Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis 2020046771, 2020046772, 9781799867326, 9781799867333, 9781799867340

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoglu Mediterranean (Akdeniz) University, Turkey

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Maha Alawdat Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel

A volume in the Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies (ALCS) Book Series

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Published in the United States of America by IGI Global Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue Hershey PA, USA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.igi-global.com Copyright © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hanci-Azizoglu, Eda, 1978- editor. | Alawdat, Maha, 1971- editor. Title: Rhetoric and sociolinguistics in times of global crisis / Eda Hanci-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, editors. Description: Hershey : Information Science Reference, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “The purpose of this book is also to bridge the gap to initiate a discussion on understanding how rhetoric and sociolinguistics could create critical awareness for individuals, societies and learning environments during crisis times”-Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020046771 (print) | LCCN 2020046772 (ebook) | ISBN 9781799867326 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781799867333 (paperback) | ISBN 9781799867340 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Rhetoric--Social aspects. | Sociolinguistics. | Crises. | Globalization--Social aspects. Classification: LCC P301.5.S63 R44 2021 (print) | LCC P301.5.S63 (ebook) | DDC 306.44--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046771 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046772 This book is published in the IGI Global book series Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies (ALCS) (ISSN: 2372-109X; eISSN: 2372-1111) British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher.

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies (ALCS) Book Series Abigail G. Scheg Western Governors University, USA

ISSN:2372-109X EISSN:2372-1111 Mission

The scope of language and communication is constantly changing as society evolves, new modes of communication are developed through technological advancement, and novel words enter our lexicon as the result of cultural change. Understanding how we communicate and use language is crucial in all industries and updated research is necessary in order to promote further knowledge in this field. The Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies (ALCS) book series presents the latest research in diverse topics relating to language and communication. Interdisciplinary in its coverage, ALCS presents comprehensive research on the use of language and communication in various industries including business, education, government, and healthcare.

Coverage

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• Non-Verbal Communication • Sociolinguistics • Computational Linguistics • Discourse Analysis • Semantics • Graphic Communications • Language and Identity • Interpersonal Communication • Computer-Mediated Communication • Cross-Cultural Communication

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The Advances in Linguistics and Communication Studies (ALCS) Book Series (ISSN 2372-109X) is published by IGI Global, 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA 17033-1240, USA, www.igi-global.com. This series is composed of titles available for purchase individually; each title is edited to be contextually exclusive from any other title within the series. For pricing and ordering information please visit http:// www.igi-global.com/book-series/advances-linguistics-communication-studies/78950. Postmaster: Send all address changes to above address. Copyright © 2021 IGI Global. All rights, including translation in other languages reserved by the publisher. No part of this series may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information and retrieval systems – without written permission from the publisher, except for non commercial, educational use, including classroom teaching purposes. The views expressed in this series are those of the authors, but not necessarily of IGI Global.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Titles in this Series

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Strategies and Tactics for Multidisciplinary Writing Kemi Elufiede (Carnegie Writers, Inc., USA) and Carissa Barker Stucky (Carnegie Writers, Inc., USA) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 315pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799844778) • US $195.00 Redefining the Role of Language in a Globalized World Ai-Ling Wang (Tamkang University, Taiwan) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 354pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799828310) • US $195.00 Handbook of Research on Contemporary Storytelling Methods Across New Media and Disciplines Lorena Clara Mihăeş (University of Bucharest, Romania) Raluca Andreescu (University of Bucharest, Romania) and Anda Dimitriu (University of Bucharest, Romania) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 467pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799866053) • US $245.00 Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism Sadia Jamil (Khalifa University, UAE) Barış Çoban (Doğuş University, Turkey) Bora Ataman (Doğuş University, Turkey) and Gifty Appiah-Adjei (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 459pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799866862) • US $265.00 Futuristic and Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching Writing to Second Language Students Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoglu (Mediterranean (Akdeniz) University, Turkey) and Nurdan Kavaklı (Izmir Democracy University, Turkey) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 353pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799865087) • US $175.00 Universal Codes of Media in International Political Communications Emerging Research and Opportunities Mykola Borysovych Yeromin (Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Ukraine) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 209pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799838081) • US $135.00

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Handbook of Research on Translating Myth and Reality in Women Imagery Across Disciplines Roxana Ciolăneanu (University of Lisbon, Portugal) and Roxana-Elisabeta Marinescu (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania) Information Science Reference • © 2021 • 403pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799864585) • US $245.00

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................... xv Acknowledgment................................................................................................................................. xxi Chapter 1 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis: Enhancing Pandemic Coping Strategies by Weaving an Intricate Social Fabric......................................................................................................................... 1 Arisha Andha, New Jersey City University, USA Haydee V. Soriano, New Jersey City University, USA Lauren G. Hahn, New Jersey City University, USA Peri Yuksel, New Jersey City University, USA Chapter 2 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis............................. 21 Erin Guydish Buchholz, The Grier School, USA Chapter 3 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis.......................................................... 41 Parisa Yeganehpour, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Turkey

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Chapter 4 Quaran-Teens 2020 Blog Series: Collaborative Digital Auto-Ethnography During the COVID-19 Pandemic................................................................................................................................................ 56 Maha Alawdat, Kaye College of Education, Israel Rebecca Hodges, Lausanne Collegiate School, USA Chapter 5 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence....................... 79 Maria Dolores Ramírez-Verdugo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Eva Márquez, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Chapter 6 Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis........................................ 100 Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoglu, Mediterranean (Akdeniz) University, Turkey

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,





Chapter 7 How to Foster Equality in the Language Classroom........................................................................... 116 Carmela B. Scala, Rutgers University, USA Chapter 8 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis: Poetry as a Humanistic Practice... 131 Jawad Golzar, Herat University, Afghanistan Mir Abdullah Miri, Herat University, Afghanistan Chapter 9 A World in Crisis: It’s About Perspective, Students’ Perspective........................................................ 152 Sharon M. Virgil, Bermuda College, Bermuda Chapter 10 The Heart of a Poet: An Autoethnographic Study of Poetry as Therapy in Times of Crisis............... 171 Leonora Anyango-Kivuva, Community College of Allegheny County, USA Chapter 11 Rhetorical Evolution in Crisis Times: A Writing Teacher’s Self-Investigation................................... 195 Sarah E. DeCapua, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA Chapter 12 Writing in Times of Crisis: A Theoretical Model for Understanding Genre Formation..................... 214 Amir Kalan, McGill University, Canada Chapter 13 Female Writings in Times of Crisis: A Transnational Feminist and Sociolinguistic Study................ 235 Nancy Al-Doghmi, Yarmouk University, Jordan Reema Salah, Al al-Bayt University, Jordan

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Chapter 14 An Intergenerational Divide: Political Rhetoric and Discourse in the Chinese American Community.......................................................................................................................................... 256 Lisa Lau, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA Chapter 15 Trump’s Declaration of the Global Gag Rule: Understanding Socio-Political Discourses Through Media................................................................................................................................................... 277 Sudeep Uprety, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Obindra B. Chand, HERD International, Nepal

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 16 The Words of War: A Content Analysis of Republican Presidential Speeches From Eisenhower, Nixon, G.W. Bush, and Trump............................................................................................................ 295 Patrick Ryan Lee, East Tennessee State University, USA Melanie B. Richards, East Tennessee State University, USA Robert Andrew Dunn, East Tennessee State University, USA Chapter 17 General Awareness and Responses to COVID-19 Crisis: A Sentiment Analysis of Twitter Updates.320 Dipima Buragohain, Jilin University, China Chapter 18 Framing Crisis in Seattle During COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter: Faith in Generative Dialogue............................................................................................................................................... 342 Holly Shelton, University of Washington, USA Zhenzhen He-Weatherford, Bellevue College, USA Shane R. Peterson, University of Washington, USA Ahmad A. Alharthi, University of Washington, USA Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 365 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 409

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Index.................................................................................................................................................... 416

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Detailed Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................... xv Acknowledgment................................................................................................................................. xxi Chapter 1 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis: Enhancing Pandemic Coping Strategies by Weaving an Intricate Social Fabric......................................................................................................................... 1 Arisha Andha, New Jersey City University, USA Haydee V. Soriano, New Jersey City University, USA Lauren G. Hahn, New Jersey City University, USA Peri Yuksel, New Jersey City University, USA Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (aka COVID-19), lifestyles across the world have changed. The ongoing uncertainty of a new global reality of social transformation has already put severe psychological stress on families and individuals and may lead to a state of dissociation, helplessness, and exhaustion. Worldwide, homes have become classrooms relying on human ingenuity and technology, widening the educational gap for under-resourced communities. As “normal” life has rapidly moved online, adaptive coping with ongoing crises is crucial to maintaining emotional and mental wellbeing. The current chapter is guided by previously published trauma-informed research and outlines remedies to build resilience in conquering the acute mental and educational challenges associated with COVID-19. Society’s collective success in overcoming the current global complexities and crisis in education requires courage, healthy community connections, and sustainable human-computer collaboration beyond borders.

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Chapter 2 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis............................. 21 Erin Guydish Buchholz, The Grier School, USA The COVID-19 crisis is impacting global society in a nearly unprecedented manner. One fractured experience is the 2019/2020 school experience. This calls attention to the impact on students’ identity, agency, and sense of place within the world. This search requires exploring the impact rhetoric and sociolinguistics have in and outside of the classroom. Programs utilizing digital tools advance students’ identities, honor agency, and understand changes in the world. Allowing students a space to express their experiences, as well as see their peers in various global destinations, begins refections on how social environments are impacting students. Incorporating conscientious uses of rhetoric and sociolinguistics within one’s classroom encourages three learning outcomes for students: 1) it establishes student agency, 2) it helps defne and explore the concept of global citizenship, and 3) it encourages students to develop transferable critical thinking skills particularly. 

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 3 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis.......................................................... 41 Parisa Yeganehpour, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Turkey All countries, regardless of their level of development and position in the world economy and relations, try to adopt similar survival behaviors in the management of educational institutions since the frst signs of the corona outbreak. Numerous people are contextually forced to learn from each other in this new adapted environment while not everyone is pessimistic about the pandemic situation and its unexpected obligations. Many people believe that the pandemic crisis is an opportunity to warm up the foundation of family relationships and the integration of high standard virtual education at global and inclusive levels. The unexpected change in social and educational intuitions reminds humanity of the vital and bright side of technology in this critical period. This chapter examines and models how virtual education can save money and resources to provide well-designed and purposeful learning opportunities for students to learn without fear when proper plans are implemented to overcome the impact of crises through the power of technological social learning. Chapter 4 Quaran-Teens 2020 Blog Series: Collaborative Digital Auto-Ethnography During the COVID-19 Pandemic................................................................................................................................................ 56 Maha Alawdat, Kaye College of Education, Israel Rebecca Hodges, Lausanne Collegiate School, USA The aim of this chapter is to examine Quaran-Teens 2020, a collaborative, digital, high school anthropology blog project during COVID-19 to demonstrate the efectiveness of auto-ethnography as a social science method, rhetorical writing style, and digital media pedagogy. The data are collected from a digital collaboration of two international baccalaureate classes at a private, international school in Memphis, Tennessee from March to June 2020. The content of the blog posts is analyzed in terms of critical selfinquiry, the social construction of society, storytelling, and ethical considerations. The fndings show the efectiveness of auto-ethnography as a timely method of sociolinguistics data collection and persuasive rhetorical narrative approach, especially in times of digital media and cultural crisis, because it situates the individual both as a culturally produced and culture-producing person. The collaborative, digital nature of the project suggests ways to overcome the traditional limitations of ethnography and may be an efective strategy beyond the specifc context.

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Chapter 5 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence....................... 79 Maria Dolores Ramírez-Verdugo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Eva Márquez, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain This chapter presents a sociocultural instructional model designed to raise L2 learners’ awareness to the vital importance of developing their critical thinking competence, especially in global crisis times. For this purpose, a pilot study was launched to explore English learners’ attitudinal factors based on their critical thinking responses to rhetoric passages with a high sociolinguistic content component. This study, part of a more extensive quasi-experimental UAM-TeLL project, was implemented in a high school of Cartagena with frst-year baccalaureate students. This educational approach’s structure allowed the researchers to measure the dynamic of participants’ feelings and refective attitudes. The study’s analytical instruments included three dimensions pre- and post- questionnaires, specifc tasks on judgment and

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



inference, guided interviews, rubrics, and feld observation. This chapter reports on the initial qualitative fndings and confrm students’ engagement and awareness of their critical thinking skills. Chapter 6 Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis........................................ 100 Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoglu, Mediterranean (Akdeniz) University, Turkey The human experience in times of crisis is a determinative indicator for the future wellbeing of generations. The lack of empathy and inactive emotional intelligence through all forms of linguistic conduct cause miscommunication and misconduct, which severely underestimates the intellectual potential of human beings. In a world of diversity, emotional intelligence and empathic linguistic power are crucial indicators of civilization and enlightenment. Given a richer understanding of the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence from a sociolinguistic perspective, this study discusses the signifcance of including emotional intelligence and empathy in educational and intellectual programs. This study is the framework through which the empathic linguistic power within a society could be a determining power for crisis management and wellbeing at times of turmoil. Chapter 7 How to Foster Equality in the Language Classroom........................................................................... 116 Carmela B. Scala, Rutgers University, USA As part of a vast interconnected ecosystem, we indeed thrive when we can live harmoniously and interact with others. However, this is not always the case, as we often face challenging times that make us question the fundamental values on which we base our existence. The past year’s brutal events, such as the police killing of Black citizens in the United States, have highlighted the profound division that afects our society, feeding the plague of systemic racism, and has brought more attention to Black’s representation throughout the world. The purpose of this chapter is to take a step in the right direction toward the elimination of systemic racism and inequality, at least in our language classroom. The author believes that defeating systemic racism by promoting a rhetoric of peace and equality and equipping students with the right sociolinguistic competencies could help our society overcome the concept of crisis. The author also argues that introducing Culturally Responsive teaching might be the best way to fght racism. Indeed, it allows students to share their heritage and linguistic knowledge and compare their cultures with others to learn about commonalities and diferences.

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Chapter 8 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis: Poetry as a Humanistic Practice... 131 Jawad Golzar, Herat University, Afghanistan Mir Abdullah Miri, Herat University, Afghanistan Meaningful literacy has tremendous yet untapped potential to engage language learners in signifcant ways. This study explored the EFL students’ poetry writing in terms of gender, poetic features use, degree of emotionality, language learning, and therapeutic efects. During the times of global crisis, the researchers recruited two EFL students who had a meaningful literacy project as a course requirement. After analyzing the two poetic pieces considering linguistic measures, the two participants were interviewed to investigate students’ reported experiences with writing poetry. The analysis revealed that the participants expressed positive attitudes toward poetry writing as it helped them share their inner thoughts and feelings despite sociocultural constraints. It was also found that poetry writing helped the

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



participants improve their target language, feel emotionally relieved, serving as psychological therapy. The study proposed several pedagogical implications related to L2 expressive pedagogy that can be incorporated into second writing education curriculums. Chapter 9 A World in Crisis: It’s About Perspective, Students’ Perspective........................................................ 152 Sharon M. Virgil, Bermuda College, Bermuda The author, a college composition teacher, recognizes we are living in a time of global crisis, fghting battles on two fronts. On the one hand, we are living in a period that sees us exposed to COVID-19, a pandemic that is threatening lives across the globe with no apparent end in sight. Then we have the social injustice that is racism rearing its vile and ugly head, resulting in the highlighting of the Black Lives Matter movement. Believing that freshman composition teachers are ideally positioned to encourage students to share their views on the crises that we are currently living through, this author uses a studentcentered-book-writing pedagogy and asks her students to write a book on what they are burning to tell the world about COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement. In this article, the author shares excerpts of her freshman composition students’ writings and briefy discusses her student-centered-book-writing pedagogy. Chapter 10 The Heart of a Poet: An Autoethnographic Study of Poetry as Therapy in Times of Crisis............... 171 Leonora Anyango-Kivuva, Community College of Allegheny County, USA The year 2020 is one not so fondly to be remembered by many. That is when the global pandemic of COVID-19 hit the world. Coupled with that, a wave of protests arose in the United States of America after the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, by a white ofcer. The entire world had to deal with questioning their inner selves about how they treat each other racially. These events have been exhausting. Finding an outlet has been a preoccupation of many. Poetry is one of the greatest forms of expressive writing that can be used as therapy in times of crisis and can be healing to the person writing. In this chapter, the author showcases her original poetry written during these times of crisis. It is an autoethnographic study where she discusses poetry using relevant scholarship. The work will be relevant to teachers and students in upper secondary literature and college English classrooms as a tool on how to handle crisis through writing.

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Chapter 11 Rhetorical Evolution in Crisis Times: A Writing Teacher’s Self-Investigation................................... 195 Sarah E. DeCapua, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA In this self-investigation, a frst-year writing teacher explored her rhetoric before and after the shift to remote learning, which occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the Spring 2020 semester. Based on scholarship in situational rhetoric and feminist ethic of care, the author investigated her written communications to the second language writers in her classes. Specifcally, she scrutinized the course policies and procedures outlined in the course syllabus and in her written announcements posted in the course’s learning management system (LMS). Grounding her discussion in extant literature, the author explored the implications of her rhetorical evolution on her future teaching and speculated on how the evolution would guide her instructional responses to future educational crises.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 12 Writing in Times of Crisis: A Theoretical Model for Understanding Genre Formation..................... 214 Amir Kalan, McGill University, Canada This chapter focuses on a memoir and a flm that narrate the experiences of Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani in an Australian refugee camp in Papua New Guinea in order to show how genres organically develop out of human engagement with social and historical circumstances. The author discusses the novel and the flm as examples of how writers’ interactions with the world impose rhetorical orientations and nurture genre formation. This chapter illustrates that, as opposed to the dominant view of rhetoric as a means of persuasion, the essence of rhetoric and genre formation is engagement with what the author calls “phenomenological autoethnography.” The author argues that studying writing in times of crisis makes the phenomenological and autoethnographic foundations of writing visible because in crises rhetoric is unapologetically used to resist injustice and build resistance through “poetic realism,” which consists of fuid genre practices that can help capture the complexities of human experience. Chapter 13 Female Writings in Times of Crisis: A Transnational Feminist and Sociolinguistic Study................ 235 Nancy Al-Doghmi, Yarmouk University, Jordan Reema Salah, Al al-Bayt University, Jordan This chapter presents a critical study of female writing practices in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels. It studies 10 personal narratives by Arab and American women responding to the global coronavirus crisis in writing. The authors’ responses vary and their narratives of crisis, whether short stories, personal essays, or testimonies, represent the heterogeneity of each woman’s life experience. The study examines women’s gendered reactions in these narratives as presenting a new kind of subjectivity that women adopt to respond to life crises, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build communications and coalitions. Writing becomes an instrumental voice for these women to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. By adopting a transnational literary feminist theoretical approach as well as a sociolinguistic one, the study explores a complex relationship between crisis, gender, and writing that reveals how female subjects use the narrative form in times of crisis.

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Chapter 14 An Intergenerational Divide: Political Rhetoric and Discourse in the Chinese American Community.......................................................................................................................................... 256 Lisa Lau, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA This chapter explores factors that infuence the current divisiveness in sociopolitical discourse and rhetoric in the Chinese American community and, in particular, the family unit. The fndings contribute to understanding the origins of ideological diferences that refect the polarization facing the U.S. at large. The author integrates her experience and knowledge of the community and draws on a range of literature on Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, and psychological theories to identify three themes that infuence the world views and modes of communication of many frst-generation Chinese Americans: an authoritarian orientation, a polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. Utilizing an autobiographical research approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography, the author captures the trauma of her parents growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution to bring awareness to disruptive events that shape cognitive processes that underlie the three themes and contribute to the current discordance in intergenerational discourse.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 15 Trump’s Declaration of the Global Gag Rule: Understanding Socio-Political Discourses Through Media................................................................................................................................................... 277 Sudeep Uprety, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Obindra B. Chand, HERD International, Nepal The current expanded policy on the Global Gag Rule by the United States (US) government and President Donald Trump has led to wider debate and discussions among the non-government organization (NGO) sector, especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) such as Nepal that are heavily reliant on US funding for health research and intervention projects. Debates and discussions are also shaped by how the media shapes the narrative. Using the securitization theory, this chapter attempts to unfold the trend and the nature of stories reported in Nepali media on the Global Gag Rule declaration, meticulously unfolding the impact it has had in Nepal. Chapter 16 The Words of War: A Content Analysis of Republican Presidential Speeches From Eisenhower, Nixon, G.W. Bush, and Trump............................................................................................................ 295 Patrick Ryan Lee, East Tennessee State University, USA Melanie B. Richards, East Tennessee State University, USA Robert Andrew Dunn, East Tennessee State University, USA In this analysis of public speeches from four American presidents from the Republican Party, the ways in which those presidents discuss and position American defense activities and stances are examined to track the progression from the 1960s to the present. Presidents chosen were from one party who also presided over a period of protracted armed confict or cold war. The addresses analyzed comprised public addresses to congress or the American people. The analysis groups recurring frames for each president. Some frames were more salient for certain presidents than for others. Other frames were common and consistently pervaded the presidents’ remarks to congress and the public. America’s struggle against a faceless enemy, American military might as a guarantor of peace, and the importance of the United States’ commitments to its international partners were all prevailing frames which emerged in the analysis.

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Chapter 17 General Awareness and Responses to COVID-19 Crisis: A Sentiment Analysis of Twitter Updates.320 Dipima Buragohain, Jilin University, China The ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19 has impacted people across nations while taking social media by storm with its massive pool of information. As social media platforms are full of horserace reporting and uncritical or even fake updates most of the time, users should respond carefully during a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic while consuming and sharing updates. The current study presents an exploratory analysis of and highlights language use in terms of users’ general awareness of the crisis and their responses on social media platforms through a sentiment analysis of 805 Twitter messages related to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The fndings reported users’ varied sentiments while expressing their general awareness about the crisis and its widespread outbreak. It also reported their use of cognizant verbal expressions and abusive words as an expression for dealing with panic of the crisis.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 18 Framing Crisis in Seattle During COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter: Faith in Generative Dialogue............................................................................................................................................... 342 Holly Shelton, University of Washington, USA Zhenzhen He-Weatherford, Bellevue College, USA Shane R. Peterson, University of Washington, USA Ahmad A. Alharthi, University of Washington, USA This study brings into conversation various discourses of faith groups with scientifc, government, and other organizations in order to trace how religious/spiritual communities frame societal crises through their language use in response to two interrelated crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent manifestations of systemic racism. The authors use theories and methodologies of metaphorical framing to analyze how diferent faith organizations communicated with their members or others about the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests in order to understand what role faith communities play in communicating public health and civil issues, what kinds of framing faith communities are mediating, and how their communication genres impact uptake. The authors’ analysis seeks to understand how faith communities can efectively mitigate the harms of these crises rhetorically and how generative dialogues could look in the future. Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 365 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 409

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Index.................................................................................................................................................... 416

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

xv

Preface

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Language and society are interdependent. A crisis, which often changes the dynamics of a society in a catastrophic way, refers to having experiences that reflect intense struggle and jeopardy. Crises often leave people in vulnerable situations in which a moment in time can function as a turning point for the better or worse. From another perspective, the concept of crisis signifies losing control of everyday privileges, and the interaction of rhetoric and sociolinguistics in times of crisis is inevitable. The book Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis is about unfortunate crises human beings are struggling against, and one of these crises is the current fatal COVID-19 crisis. Living a crisis can indeed be an opportunity to document how different disciplines have changed and emerged new foundational techniques and strategies. In times of crisis, it is crucial to internalize how rhetoric, an effective skill from ancient times to make meaning of sociologically breakthrough events, changed the course of events as well as the fate of humanity. Within the same context, this interdisciplinary work invited scholars from diverse disciplines to explore, investigate, and analyze the concept of “crisis” from global, sociolinguistic, and rhetorical perspectives. With the unfortunate spread of the COVID-19 during the year 2020, the world has truly passed through a global crisis that continues to affect and change the lives of human beings around the world. This book reveals some of those changes vividly by compiling promising studies together for a variety of stakeholders, who are going to benefit from these valuable studies of education, technology, sociology, linguistics, and crisis management. The selective authors of this book touched upon critical issues including ideas, theories, techniques, and applications that reveal a collection of research about new concepts and terminology to bridge the gap to initiate a discussion on understanding how rhetoric and sociolinguistics could create critical awareness for individuals, societies and learning environments during crisis times. The content of each chapter shows a unique experience that helps readers to envision and relate to a crisis that builds a foundational technique for a variety of audiences and institutions. Thus, this book is organized thematically and provides a focused research on a variety of critical issues affected by the pandemic.

Chapter 1 In the unit of “A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis: Enhancing Pandemic Coping Strategies by Weaving an Intricate Social Fabric,” Arisha Andha, Haydee V Soriano, Lauren G Hahn, and Peri Yuksel, remark that due to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic (aka COVID-19), lifestyles across the world have changed. The ongoing uncertainty of a new global reality of social transformation has already put severe psychological stress on families and individuals and may lead to a state of dissociation, helplessness,

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Preface

and exhaustion. Worldwide homes have become classrooms relying on human ingenuity and technology, widening the educational gap for under-resourced communities. As “normal” life has rapidly moved online, adaptive coping with ongoing crises is crucial to maintaining emotional and mental wellbeing. The current chapter is guided by previously published trauma-informed research and outlines remedies to build resilience in conquering the acute mental and educational challenges associated with COVID-19. Society’s collective success in overcoming the current global complexities and crisis in education requires courage, healthy community connections, and sustainable human-computer collaboration beyond borders.

Chapter 2 In “Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis,” Erin Guydish Buchholz explores the impact rhetoric and sociolinguistics have in and outside of the classroom. Programs utilizing digital tools advance students’ identities, honor agency, and understand changes in the world. Incorporating conscientious uses of rhetoric and sociolinguistics within one’s classroom, the author explores three learning outcomes for students: establishing student agency, defining and exploring the concept of global citizenship, and encouraging students to develop transferable critical thinking skills particularly.

Chapter 3 In her chapter, “The Power of Technological Learning in Times of Crisis,” Parisa Yeganehpour, states that all countries, regardless of their level of development and position in the world economy and relations, try to adopt similar survival behaviors in the management of educational institutions since the first signs of the corona outbreak. Numerous people are contextually forced to learn from each other in this new adapted environment while not everyone is pessimistic about the pandemic situation and its unexpected obligations. Many people believe that the pandemic crisis is an opportunity to warm up the foundation of family relationships and the integration of high standard virtual education at global and inclusive levels. The unexpected change in social and educational intuitions reminds humanity the vital and bright side of technology in this critical period. This chapter examines and models how virtual education can save money and resources to provide well-designed and purposeful learning opportunities for students to learn without fear when proper plans are implemented to overcome the impact of crises through the power of technological social learning.

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Chapter 4 In their chapter, “Quaran-teens 2020 Blog Series: Collaborative Digital Auto-Ethnography during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Maha Alawdat and Rebecca Hodges examine collaborative, digital, high school anthropology blog project during COVID-19 to demonstrate the effectiveness of auto-ethnography for rhetorical writing, digital media, and social science pedagogy. The content of the blog posts is analyzed in terms of critical self-inquiry, the social construction of society, storytelling, and ethical considerations. The findings show the effectiveness of auto-ethnography as a timely method of sociolinguistics data collection and persuasive rhetorical narrative approach, especially in times of digital media and cultural crisis, because it situates the individual both as a culturally produced and culture-producing person.

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Chapter 5 In the unit of “A Sociocultural Study on English Learner’s Critical Thinking Skills and Competence,” Maria Dolores Ramírez-Verdugo and Eva Márquez present a sociocultural instructional model designed to raise L2 learners’ awareness to the vital importance of developing their critical thinking competence, especially in global crisis times. For this purpose, a pilot study was launched to explore english learners’ attitudinal factors based on their critical thinking responses to rhetoric passages with a high sociolinguistic content component. This study, part of a more extensive quasi-experimental UAM-TeLL project, was implemented in a high school of Cartagena with first-year baccalaureate students. This educational approach’s structure allowed the researchers to measure the dynamic of participants’ feelings and reflective attitudes. The study analytical instruments included three dimensions-pre-and-post questionnaires, specific tasks on judgment and inference, guided interviews, rubrics, and field observation. This chapter reports on the initial qualitative findings and confirm students’ engagement and awareness of their critical thinking skills.

Chapter 6 In her “Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis” Study, Eda Başak Hanci-Azizoglu states that human experience in times of crisis in a determinative indicator for the future wellbeing of generations. The lack of empathy and inactive emotional intelligence through all forms of linguistic conduct cause miscommunication and misconduct, which severely underestimates the intellectual potential of human beings. In a world of diversity, emotional intelligence and empathic linguistic power are crucial indicators of civilization and enlightenment. Given a richer understanding of the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence from a sociolinguistic perspective, this study discusses the significance of including emotional intelligence and empathy in educational and intellectual programs. This study is the framework through which the empathic linguistic power within a society could be a determining power for crisis management and wellbeing at times of turmoil.

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Chapter 7 In the unit “How to Foster Equality in the Language Classroom,” Carmela B. Scala highlights the challenging times that make us question the fundamental values on which we base our existence. The past year’s brutal events, such as the police killing of Black citizens in the United States, have highlighted the profound division that affects our society, feeding the plague of systemic racism, and has brought more attention to Black’s representation throughout the world. The purpose of this chapter is to take a step in the right direction toward the elimination of systemic racism and inequality, at least in our language classroom. The author believes that defeating systemic racism by promoting a rhetoric of peace and equality and equipping students with the right sociolinguistic competencies could help our society overcome the concept of crisis. The author also argues that introducing culturally responsive teaching might be the best way to fight racism.

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Chapter 8 In “Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis: Poetry as a Humanistic Practice,” Jawad Golzar and Mir Abdullah Miri explores the EFL students’ poetry writing in terms of gender, poetic features use, degree of emotionality, language learning, and therapeutic effects. They have found that poetry writing helped the participants improve their target language, feel emotionally relieved, serving as psychological therapy.

Chapter 9 Similarly, Sharon M. Virgil, in her chapter “A World in Crisis: It’s about Perspective, Students’ Perspective,” uses a student-centered-book-writing pedagogy and asks her students to write a book on what they are burning to tell the world about COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement. In her chapter, she shares excerpts of her freshman composition students’ writings and briefly discusses her studentcentered-book-writing pedagogy.

Chapter 10 In her chapter, “The Heart of a Poet: An Autoethnographic Study of Poetry as Therapy in Times of Crisis,” Leonora Anyango Kivuva showcases her original poetry written during these times of crisis. It is an autoethnographic study where I discuss poetry using relevant scholarship. The work will be relevant to teachers and students in upper secondary literature and college English classrooms as a tool on how to handle crisis through writing. For her, poetry is one of the greatest forms of expressive writing that can be used as therapy in times of crisis, and can be healing to the person writing.

Chapter 11

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In “Rhetorical Evolution in Crisis Times: A Writing Teacher’s Self-Investigation,” Sarah E. DeCapua, a First-Year Writing teacher explored her rhetoric before and after the shift to remote learning, which occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the Spring 2020 semester. Based on scholarship in situational rhetoric and feminist ethic of care, the author investigated her written communications to the second language writers in her classes. Specifically, she scrutinized the course policies and procedures outlined in the course syllabus and in her written announcements posted in the course’s Learning Management System (LMS). Grounding her discussion in extant literature, the author explored the implications of her rhetorical evolution on her future teaching and speculated on how the evolution would guide her instructional responses to future educational crises.

Chapter 12 In his chapter, “Writing in Times of Crisis: A Theoretical Model for Understanding Genre Formation,” Amir Kalan, focuses on a memoir and a film that narrate the experiences of Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani in an Australian refugee camp in Papua New Guinea in order to show how genres organically develop out of human engagement with social and historical circumstances. The author discusses the novel and the film as examples of how writers’ interactions with the world impose rhetorical orientations xviii

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Preface

and nurture genre formation. This chapter illustrates that, as opposed to the dominant view of rhetoric as a means of persuasion, the essence of rhetoric and genre formation is engagement with what the author calls phenomenological autoethnography. The author argues that studying writing in times of crisis makes the phenomenological and autoethnographic foundations of writing visible because in crises rhetoric is unapologetically used to resist injustice and build resilience through poetic realism, which consists of fluid genre practices that can help capture the complexities of human experience.

Chapter 13 In “Female Writings in Times of Crisis: A Transnational Feminist and Sociolinguistic Study,” Nancy Al-Doghmi and Reema Salah present a critical study of female writing practices in response to COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels. Studying ten personal narratives by arab and american women responding to the global coronavirus crisis in writing, the researchers examine gendered reactions as a new kind of subjectivity that women adopt to respond to life crises, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build communications and coalitions. Writing becomes an instrumental voice for these women to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. By adopting a transnational literary feminist theoretical approach and a sociolinguistic one, the study explores a complex relationship between crisis, gender, and writing that reveals how female subjects use the narrative form in times of crisis.

Chapter 14 In the unit of “An International Divide: Political Rhetoric and Discourse in the Chinese American Community,” Lisa Lau explores factors that influence the current divisiveness in sociopolitical discourse and rhetoric in the Chinese American community and, in particular, the family unit. The findings contribute to understanding the origins of ideological differences that reflect the polarization facing the U.S. at large. The author integrates her experience and knowledge of the community and draws on a range of literature on Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, and psychological theories to identify three themes that influence the world views and modes of communication of many first-generation Chinese Americans: an authoritarian orientation, a polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. Utilizing an autobiographical research approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography, the author captures the trauma of her parents growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution to bring awareness to disruptive events that shape cognitive processes that underlie the three themes and contribute to the current discordance in intergenerational discourse.

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Chapter 15 In their chapter, “Trump’s Declaration of the Global Gag Rule: Understanding Socio-Political Discourses through Media,” Sudeep Uprety and Obindra B. Chand present the current policy on the Global Gag Rule by the United States government and President Donald Trump. They attempt to unfold the trend and the nature of stories reported in Nepali media on the Global Gag Rule declaration, meticulously unfolding the impact it has had in Nepal. They present the wider debate and discussions among the nongovernment organization (NGO) sector, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICS) such

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Preface

as Nepal that are heavily reliant on US funding for health research and intervention projects. Debates and discussions are also very much shaped by how the media shapes the narrative.

Chapter 16 In their chapter, “The Words of War: A Content Analysis of Republican Presidential Speeches from Eisenhower, Nixon, G.W. Bush, and Trump,” Patrick Ryan Lee, Melanie B. Richards, and Robert Andrew Dunn analyze public speeches from four American presidents from the Republican Party. They analyze the ways in which those presidents discuss and position American defense activities and stances are examined, to track the progression from the 1960s to the present. Presidents chosen were from one party who also presided over a period of protracted armed conflict or cold war. The addresses analyzed comprised public addresses to Congress or the American people. The analysis groups recurring frames for each president. Some frames were more salient for certain presidents than for others. Other frames were common and consistently pervaded the presidents’ remarks to Congress and the public. America’s struggle against a faceless enemy, American military might as a guarantor of peace, and the importance of the United States’ commitments to its international partners were all prevailing frames, which emerged in the analysis.

Chapter 17 In her chapter, “General Awareness and Responses to Covid-19 Crisis: A Sentiment Analysis of Twitter Updates,” Dipima Buragohain presents an exploratory analysis and highlights language use in terms of users’ general awareness of the crisis and their responses on social media platforms through sentiment analysis of 805 twitter messages related to COVID-19 pandemic in India. The findings reported users’ varied sentiments while expressing their general awareness about the crisis and its widespread outbreak. It also reported their use of cognizant verbal expressions and abusive words as an expression for dealing with the panic of the crisis.

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Chapter 18 In their chapter, “Framing Crisis in Seattle during COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter: Faith in Generative Dialogue,” Holly Shelton, Zhenzhen He-Weatherford, Shane R. Peterson, and Ahmad A. Alharthi bring into conversation the analysis of various discourses of faith groups with scientific, government, and other organizations. They aim to trace how religious/spiritual communities frame societal crises through their language use in response to two interrelated crises, the COVID-19 pandemic and manifestations of systemic racism. They analyze metaphorical framing in how different faith organizations communicated with their members or others about the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests in order to understand what role faith communities play in communicating public health and civil issues, what kinds of framing faith communities are mediating, and how their communication genres impact uptake.

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Acknowledgment

The editors of this book became very close friends since the first day of their doctoral program in Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and share the same research passion and interest throughout their professional career. First of all, they are very grateful for each other’s sincere company. Next, their unique English Department Program at Composition & TESOL/Applied Linguistics opened up new research avenues for them to bring together valuable scholars from different parts of the world within the scope of this book. The editors, therefore, greatly appreciate Indiana University of Pennsylvania professors, who touched their hearts through their wisdom and knowledge.

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This book is a collection of a unique interdisciplinary academic study, which is presented through the intellectual participation and experiences of selective researchers across borders. The editors extend their sincere gratitude to each and every author in this book.

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1

Chapter 1

A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis:

Enhancing Pandemic Coping Strategies by Weaving an Intricate Social Fabric Arisha Andha New Jersey City University, USA Haydee V. Soriano New Jersey City University, USA Lauren G. Hahn New Jersey City University, USA Peri Yuksel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9473-4958 New Jersey City University, USA

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ABSTRACT Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (aka COVID-19), lifestyles across the world have changed. The ongoing uncertainty of a new global reality of social transformation has already put severe psychological stress on families and individuals and may lead to a state of dissociation, helplessness, and exhaustion. Worldwide, homes have become classrooms relying on human ingenuity and technology, widening the educational gap for under-resourced communities. As “normal” life has rapidly moved online, adaptive coping with ongoing crises is crucial to maintaining emotional and mental wellbeing. The current chapter is guided by previously published trauma-informed research and outlines remedies to build resilience in conquering the acute mental and educational challenges associated with COVID-19. Society’s collective success in overcoming the current global complexities and crisis in education requires courage, healthy community connections, and sustainable human-computer collaboration beyond borders.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch001

Copyright © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

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INTRODUCTION A multiplicity of tumultuous economic events and armed conflicts have characterized the 21st century as one replete with anxiety. Between 2001 and 2020, national and global financial crisis and recessions have generated a paradigm of financial uncertainty, while civil wars and deleterious insurgency occupations in the Middle East have displaced a record number of people, confounding economic insecurity with civil safety concerns. Amidst geopolitical discord, humanity now faces a novel pandemic, namely SARS-CoV-2 — a severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus 2 — which has drastically changed the functionality of the workforce and the education system, affecting global humanity. Homes have become classrooms or offices, and sometimes both necessitating families’ reliance on collaborative technology to practice social distancing, aka physical distancing. Without access to schools and campuses, vulnerable students who once received external social assurance and scholastic affirmation are now heavily dependent on household members to fulfill social needs and provide academic support. Students of diverse backgrounds and learning needs may also be at higher risk of vulnerability due to limited or no access to essential services once offered by their schools. The sustainability of students’ socio-emotional health and cognitive vitality traditionally relies on adaptive roles, responsibilities, and routines of caretakers. While caregiving can be a joyous and enriching experience unmatched with any other experience, limited coping resources may increase stress and lead to social impairment undermining the quality engagement between a caregiver and a child (Azhari et al., 2019; Nelson-Coffey, & Stewart, 2019). With shelter-in-place situations, caretakers themselves might experience heightened anxiety surrounding their adherence to social distancing policies, the threat of economic instability, fear, rumors of infection, and in some cases bereavement of lost loved ones. Even more significant is the obligation to face these concerns with scant opportunities for social support. Although not every household may experience burnout, the ongoing uncertainty and limited means of social engagement have already put severe emotional stress on families which may lead to a state of dissociation, helplessness, and exhaustion. During such unprecedented times, the authors turn to previously published research for recommendations on coping with the stressors of the pandemic in homes and in classroom settings. Pandemics have been known to leave lasting imprints on those who live through them for which negative psychological effects may proliferate throughout an entire generation of humanity (Almond, 2006). To prevent longstanding damage to families, communities, and the education system, administrators and leaders should carry an acute moral responsibility to facilitate the adoption of effective teaching and learning practices in times of crisis. As the COVID-19 health crisis was approaching its apex and in-person learning was deemed unsafe by authorities, 191 country-wide school closures affected approximately 1.5 billion learners and remote learning was rapidly adopted for teaching (UNESCO, 2020). Subsequently, the usage of teleconferencing and collaborative software expanded beyond classroom practices. The effort to maintain contact was heeded in response to a need for normalcy and emotional connection. Access to social media and digital platforms may have eased social loneliness and helped people stay emotionally connected (Greenhow & Chapman, 2020). Nevertheless, the lack of in-person communication and its plausible aversive effects on long-term childhood development remain to be investigated. The goal of the current chapter is to point out factors which contribute to stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and offer remedies to reduce the risks associated with chronic trauma. The next sections outline the psychological challenges faced by those living through the tumultuous uncertainty of the 21st century, review crises responses of various leaders, experts, and activists, and suggest remedies to the persistent anxiety of the times. 2

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

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HEALTH IN CRISIS In the beginning of 2020, the world became aware of an infectious disease known as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China and subsequently spread across communities and countries. On January 30th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency (World Health Organization, 2020). COVID-19 has affected every single country and disrupted all aspects of life (Acter et al., 2020). This virus, which is invisible to the human eye, has even altered perennial cultural practices which ritualized major transitional stages in life, such as birth and death, and continues to test the ingenuity of individual humans and organizations every day. The coronavirus has posed a challenge to health care systems across many countries (Curtis et al., 2020) which was exemplified by the lack of ventilators, scarcity of personal protective equipment (PPE), exhaustion of medical staff, and insufficient capacity of hospitals to provide sick beds and space for respectful preservation of deceased persons. The uncharted circumstances dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic blatantly exposed the strengths and weaknesses of various countries’ healthcare systems and preparedness for infectious diseases. In Italy, ambulances had to wait for hospital beds while in France, coronavirus patients occupied 92.5% of the intensive care capacity (Hinnant, 2020). Due to the scarcity of masks, COVID-19 testing kits, and other healthcare resources, people were discouraged from checking into hospitals unless their capability to breathe independently was severely challenged. Although the most severe demands on the health care system have since been in decline, many experts warned to be prepared for waves of infections (Horowitz, 2020). Another wave or new strains of COVID-19 may concur with upcoming flu seasons and further confound individuals’ understanding of health risks, which consequently contributes to greater mental strain (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Numerous healthcare systems across the world are doomed to suffer as the pandemic continues. While developing countries where most of the humanity exists, have not been able to secure limited stocks of the novel coronavirus vaccine further broadening the economic and health inequality (Goodman, 2020). As the current pandemic evolves, the long-term effects and potency of COVID-19 on humans remain ambiguous. Thus far, known symptoms of COVID-19 range from fever, fatigue, dry cough, loss of taste, loss of smell, vomiting (Wang, et al., 2020; Yeager, 2020). Some of these symptoms are indicative of the coronavirus’s ability to spread to the brain, which raises concerns of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s (Antonio, 2020). Research suggests COVID-19 can also have lasting effects on cardiovascular health (Xiong et al., 2020). As the scientific understanding of COVID-19 evolves, researchers are beginning to understand the stages of recovery and potential lasting weaknesses of infected individuals. Self-reports suggest those who have been infected have a heightened susceptibility to other illnesses and may suffer persisting coronavirus symptoms as so-called long haulers (Wallace, 2020). Longitudinal studies would provide insight into necessary post-infection medical support needs. It is possible that this virus could cause millions of people to suffer from central nervous system or respiratory dysfunction for years. While the focus of authorities was to curb the spread of infection, the implementation of sustainable research strategies, country-wide responses, and responsible media coverage of such strategies were and still are increasingly important for the wellbeing of human life and economic growth.

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

MENTAL HEALTH IN CRISIS

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Fragmented Attention Inside the Home The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on all individuals and families. As of January 2020, 2 million people have died due to COVID-19 (Ritchie et al., 2020). This death toll coupled with the fear of infection, media overload, and consistent peril within the human welfare system, shed light on negative psychological impacts on children and parents/guardians, such as anxiety and depression (Bornstein, 2020; Ustun, 2020). Psychological damage related to the loss of loved ones, long-term isolation, and economic insecurity, can continue to build and linger long after the threat of infection is gone. A variety of lifestyle concerns might then emerge, including socio-emotional maladjustment and academic and behavioral disturbances (Mackinnon, 2012; Shern et al., 2016). An analysis of contributing stressors and resilience factors could present a reasonable structure for resilience-strengthening pedagogy in schools and communities (De Bellis & Zisk, 2014). If these approaches are standardized before harmful thoughts related to the immediate health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic (and other comorbid global crisis) can alter neurobiological function, students and families may be offered relief from long-term psychological damage. Trauma-informed pedagogy, which builds on a neuroscientific basis, recognizes the significance of early intervention in providing foundations for resilience and alleviating the impacts of distressing events. Trauma research could provide insight into vital approaches for engaging in psychological self-care and well-being (Chen & Bonanno, 2020; Karatzias et al., 2017). While intermittent stress related to survival instincts is considered adaptive, the abrupt lifestyle disruptions and alterations associated with COVID-19 may have exposed young children to a heightened and prolonged state of fear. The threat of infection and excessive grief from the sudden loss of loved ones (many of which were not given traditional memorials after death) may have contributed to emotional setbacks and a state of dissociation, while the additional anxiety of job and income loss can lead to housing concerns and food scarcity, meaning basic human needs of shelter and sustenance are going unanswered. The presence of any or all these conditions may put family members at risk of toxic stress. Toxic stress is the prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system which can lead to permanent changes in the brain’s structure. Adverse health consequences, such as stress, anxiety, and helplessness, may linger long after the removal, and may lead to chronic conditions or failures of the respiratory system or the heart failure, even worse to premature death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019; Felitti et al., 1998). With risks of emotional and physical adverse effects, academic failure for children has also become a possibility. The widespread school closures forced parents/guardians to become teachers overnight while juggling other domestic and professional responsibilities without any external help. On the other hand, children, removed from their previous “normal” must also learn and continue to develop in a socially distanced world. Children may struggle to learn due to the limited capacities at home and lack motivation. Teachers report more absentee students and more students not completing their work, with a fear of students falling through the cracks of online learning (Schwartz, 2020). While parents/guardians work towards mitigating these setbacks, proper remediation of the educational and economic divide relies on trauma-centric, neuroscientific research to inform interventions for use by both educators and parents/guardians post COVID-19 as students try a return to normalcy. The effects of this failure may be amplified in homes with toxic atmospheres or where mental health is a pre-existing concern, which has been known to disproportionately affect racial minorities and lower income classes (Burke Harris, 4

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

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2018). Academic and social setbacks, failure in school, and early drop-out may result in lasting economic hardship, which in turn is a robust predictor of mental health challenges (Porche et al., 2011). The lockdown measure implemented to control the spread of the coronavirus, also known as the “Great Lockdown,” has led to an economic crisis, which started with a momentous stock market crash in late February just before major economic players in Asia and Europe went into country-wide lockdowns. COVID-19 has led to the loss of jobs, lower-income, remote working, increased stress for frontline workers, or dealing with ongoing uncertainty on a day-to-day basis. As people transition into remote responsibilities, access to reliable internet remains a valid concern for those in minority communities, where a lack of infrastructure results in less reliable internet connectivity in comparison to that of wealthier communities. Synchronously, with the transition to remote working was the temporary suspension of some manual labor services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health regulations were adopted across multiple states in varying timelines, which put employees in the workforce out of a job. The uncertainty of job attainability has also given individuals and families a sense of hopelessness. When their main sources of income vanished, household members began to seek alternative ways to make necessary purchases and pay essential bills. When working remotely, employees of diverse backgrounds faced unique challenges to set-up a suitable work environment to minimize distractions from the external life-threatening news developments and from distractions from household members. In addition, essential workers (i.e., food, cleaning supplies, health, and medical sectors) faced the complication of arranging child-care once the school year began (Lee, 2020). Parents/guardians, who now have the added responsibility of educating their children, while acting as a buffer during these times may also struggle to maintain a balance during this multifaceted crisis and suffer emotional stress, exhaustion, and burnout (Marchetti et al., 2020). With stay-at-home orders and the added economic instability, people are also struggling for access to necessities. Drastic changes in international and domestic affairs significantly impacted on the supply chain distribution of essential goods. The difficulty in obtaining essential supplies, either due to scarcity or affordability of resources, can also generate fear and anxiety. In the beginning of the countries-wide lockdown, the term “Hamsterkauf” emerged in German headlines to symbolize the distinct pandemic behavior of hoarding survival food and household staples, such as toilet paper. Anguish related to the inability to provide household essentials has been known to inflict individuals with impaired immune responses (Liang et al., 2020). In turn, compromised immunity leads to longer recovery periods and lower survival rates from bacterial and viral infections, including COVID-19. Such anxious panic behavior may also lead to overwhelming emotional outbreaks and consequently, could imprint across generations to automatically turn on the mind’s built-in survival mechanisms whenever facing crises times, instead of engaging rational thought and taking time to think critically (Kahneman, 2011).

Fragmented Attention Outside the Home The COVID-19 global health crisis, although of grave consequences, was exacerbated by massive and conflicting media coverage running in a loop worldwide. Increased exposure to informative media and mixed information generates stress and anxiety in all those who consume media, which has the potential to deteriorate community health and overwhelm vulnerable health care systems when large numbers of people are exposed (Garfin et al., 2020). When media consumers are regularly confronted with inaccurate information and passively consume it, they readily encode the wrong statements into memory and retrieve those memories in decision-making moments (Rapp, 2016). For example, when following 5

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

mandatory shelter-in-place protocol, people had more expendable time to familiarize themselves with on-going foreign and domestic political ventures, many of which were tragic, enraging, and disturbing events, both related and unrelated to the health crisis. Constant news coverage across multiple platforms can take a toll on viewers, especially when the most widely covered stories are those which incite fear, anger, outrage, or mistrust (Trussler & Soroka, 2014). The danger of being under-informed attracts viewers to stories of government criticism and objective reports, which are often negative in nature (Tizzoni et al., 2020). This allowed free agents to manipulate portions of the news, and consequently altered individuals’ decision-making processes. An alternative narrative to reality threatens unity and polarizes communities (Huo & Cheng, 2018). Although a wellinformed individual is best prepared to make wise personal health choices, constant consumption of international and domestic news installs fear in the public and can lead to the manifestation of mental illnesses (Liang et al., 2020). Empirical studies indicate that both, children and adults, are susceptible to detrimental alterations in cognition after consuming news media, yet children who watch the news alongside their parents/guardians fare better than children who watch alone (De Simone et al., 2020). Co-viewership grants parents/guardians the opportunity to expound on news coverage and assure children of their safety by addressing a child’s substantive risk of falling victim to the types of atrocities discussed by reporters (De Simone et al., 2020). The threat on mental health may also not have been so grave if media outlets chose to provide accurate information on the spread and severity of infection. As the pandemic has evolved, people have relied on the media to keep up to date, especially as lockdown policies went into effect. Stay at home orders with limited resources for entertainment and activities for social stimulation may put people into positions to consume exceedingly copious amounts of media information, quantifying the widespread wave of fear and anxiety across the globe. While this has encouraged people to follow the guidelines of experts to prevent the spreading of coronavirus, many are questioning science and implementation of policies by public officials. Globally, many people have taken part in anti-mask protests. The protestors believe that mandating masks is an infringement upon their rights (Philipose, 2020). As public distrust and apprehension have been on the rise, so has the rise of misinformation and conspiracy theories. This has made achieving a public consensus unattainable. Although many supported school and business reopening policies, others have been wary of the consequences of over-populating public spaces while the virus is actively spreading. This distinct divide could have potentially compromised the health of vulnerable groups for the sake of political gain at a time when humanitarian aid should be of utmost concern and priority (Yazbeck & Soucat, 2019). Such actions of individualism can mar the image of worldwide hegemon and provide doubtful practices for leadership under trying circumstances. A surge of in-person and online activism had brought attention to the emotionally damaging experiences of population sub-groups. The topics of discussion were often sensitive and polarizing, and participants were likely to reject productive conversation practices and embrace verbal aggression and heated altercations. While some citizens advocated for a safer ‘new normal’, others championed traditional values as the most effective means of facilitating economic performance and alleviating concerns of the general population (Duan et al., 2020). Experiencing and participating in discordant conversations amongst neighbors and fellow citizens may have also contributed to individuals’ mental health, jeopardizing emotional recovery amid already disturbing circumstances and complex developments. At home, parents/guardians have now become responsible for the emotional recovery of their children and been thrust into role playing as teachers while adapting to closures of daycare centers and schools. In addition to traditional parenting, digital parenting is becoming mainstream, yet parents/guardians need to be 6

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

realist of the inherent advantages and dangers of the internet (Livingston & Byrne, 2018). With limited or lost social support parents/guardians also need to help their children understand the ever-changing nature of daily life and develop cope mechanisms to deal with the uncertainty and the disruption of daily routines. The shelter-in place might provide a unique opportunity for parents/guardians to bond with their children, help in emotion regulation and take time in explaining and addressing what children see on television and social media or eavesdrop through adult conversations. Since nations across the globe have joined each other in a cross-country shutdown throughout the early days of 2020, tragic events including bigotry and natural disasters lead to widespread political tension that echoed across multiple nations, regardless of it being a domestic matter. One of the most visible social movements of this time was recognized by multiple nations as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, in which participants address and act against systematic racism and inter-generational inequity (Sherman, 2020). The death of George Floyd, an African American man, while in police custody, is one of many recent occurrences in which racial prejudice is thought to be a motivating factor for discrimination resulting in death (Kirkos, 2020). Floyd’s death moved African Americans and diverse allies to seek reprisal for generations of police brutality and maltreatment by the hands of those who erroneously, and in an egregious wrong, claim superiority. Stay-at-home orders allowed time for reflection in solitude and the revisiting of disproportionate use of police force and traumatic deaths such as Floyd is on social media platforms. An uprise in activism brought people of all backgrounds and nationalities together to voice concerns and share humanitarian values in hopes of remediating the discriminatory shortcomings of governments and elected officials (Mundt et al., 2018). Since Floyd’s death, there were continuous protests in various cities across multiple nations in which participants demand systemic changes to their respective political systems, a call against oppression, systemic inequality and racism (World Politics Review, 2021). Activism branched out in-person with physical protests in which participants combated issues of personal importance. People came to the streets against bigotry and racism, against masks and vaccines, and against government policies. Media, activists, and the government have all contributed to the polarization and politicization of society on a global scale. As misinformation has spread and thrived, it has led to the unchecked spread of conspiracy theories, as those peddled by QAnon (Rauhala & Morris, 2020). People are now burdened with choosing what to believe and pushed towards picking a side. Consequently, parents/guardians must also choose what to tell their children and how to properly educate their children as the pandemic utterly disrupted the education system.

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EDUCATION IN CRISIS Changing Landscape of Schooling As COVID-19 cases rose, 185 countries shut down their schools as of April 2020 (Barton & Parekh, 2020). This course of action has led to the rapid adoption of online learning, sometimes synchronously with classmates and other times asynchronously on an independent basis. While physical removal from a child’s traditional learning environment could be detrimental to their academic performance and socialemotional development, closing schools was considered a public health necessity. The spread and longterm effects of COVID-19 are vastly unknown and risking the lives of children, teachers, and families

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

with a premature return to physical instruction would only perpetuate the nefarious consequences of this current global health crisis. Since April 2020, countries have tried to re-open the economy and return to “normal.” As the economy and the education system are intrinsically interconnected, this has led to an attempt to re-open schools for which the economic losses faced by families and businesses occurred with the loss of childcare, as well as closure of daycares and schools. Some countries had masks and social distancing requirement for schools that were reopening (Barton & Parekh, 2020). While these strategies reduce the spread of COVID-19, there are no guarantees infections will not occur (Ward, 2020). In the US, as schools tried to reopen there has been a 90% increase of COVID-19 cases among children (McNamara, 2020). In Israel, schools reopened briefly as outbreaks soon returned throughout the country forcing students and teachers to quarantine again (Kershner & Belluck, 2020). These mis-adventurous attempts to reopen schools during these wobbly times constitutes an indicator that providing an effective online learning environment is the safest option thus far for children and educators alike. While children remain highly adaptable to a myriad of situations, they still require parental or adult support and guidance to understand the surrounding circumstances and the actions to adopt in order to move forward. Through modern technology, school-age children can learn from home and connect with their teachers and peers. Data reveal that student-centered online learning is less time consuming than traditional teaching and results in heightened information retention (Li & Lalani, 2020). Modern technology and online learning may be safe alternatives in helping students learn in times of physical distancing, but for many students of the world access to computers and remote learning resources is far from reality. Limited internet access in rural areas has created a barrier between students and education (Opalka et.al., 2020). In a time when life has drastically altered everyday activities and moved online, millions of school-age children in rural areas without access to the internet, radio, or TV are forced into complete social and economic isolation, suffering educational deficits and setbacks (UNESCO, 2020). Education is in crisis. For instance, the Ministry of Education in Peru launched the “I Learn at Home” campaign in response to the country-wide high infection rates, yet 1.2 million school-age children live in rural areas with no access to infrastructure for remote learning. To remedy this, UNICEF has helped distribute loudspeakers to help indigenous communities participate in remote learning (Alcazar, 2020). Other communities and school districts have tried various measures, such as distributing hotspot devices to students to teachers personally delivering printed material, portraying a largescale momentum to help students learn at home (Kelly, 2020; Watson 2020). Although school closures decrease the risk of COVID-19 spread, distant learning may not be enough for students to be educationally secure and connect with teachers and peers to engage in two-way conversations. While distant learning has not been adequately assessed yet, getting used to a new learning modality may take up some time and cause anxiety. Online learning, while necessary during lockdown measures, may not be effective for all students and the digital divide, without any governmental intervention, is predicted to further reify the Matthew Effect, where the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer (ACAPS, 2020; Heckman, 2011). The push towards returning to pre-COVID-19 life is understandable and while social distancing and protective face coverings could minimize the spread of infection in schools and campuses, it may be possible that children and young adults may not always adhere to such guidelines. Families with schoolage children and teachers would be at risk if educational leaders expected an atmosphere of normalcy only because schools are reopening. Historical records show that schools played a significant role in spreading the 1957, 1968, 2009 pandemics (Barry, 2018). Learning from past pandemics, stake holders 8

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

shall accept the undeniable fact that any health crisis of such complexity imposes colossal challenges which require leadership characterized by empathy and “courage to accept— indeed, embrace— uncertainty” with strength and resilience (Barry, 2018, p. 261). The impacts associated with the pandemic and on-going crises are ubiquitous and already vulnerable individuals and societies with pronounced economic inequality and other systemic issues are facing incredibly challenging times, which may lead to additional negative psychological consequences and require a drastic structural change for recovery to reduce the wealth disparity. Especially, children in already impoverished contexts with no infrastructure for online or remote learning or limited access to quality education are likely to fall behind, drop out, show academic deficits, or not even go back to school (Hair et al., 2015; UNESCO, 2020)

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Threat to Vulnerable Populations While stay-at-home orders were developed to protect individuals from contracting COVID-19, thereby safeguarding the healthcare system from patient overload, some vulnerable populations may be subject to dysfunctional and dysregulated relationships at home. Domestic violence and other stressors of daily living have been heightened by the pandemic, subsequently giving way to the spread of grave mental health concerns (Campbell, 2020). Office shutdowns and lack of accessible communication to domestic violence relief or child protective services made it difficult to quantify risk (Bradbury-Jones & Isham, 2020). Even more alarming, abuse cases seem to have plunged during lockdown, with reported cases of abuse down by 51% (Stewart, 2020). Victims are hidden behind locked doors with little opportunity for outside contacts to detect abuse through visible bruises, personality changes in the victim, or any indications of self-harm or suicide (Bradbury‐Jones & Isham, 2020; Stewart, 2020). The WHO estimates at least 35% of women worldwide are victims of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or nonsexual partner violence (García-Moreno et al., 2013). It is estimated that one billion children under the age of 18 are victims of some form of violence, i.e., bullying, sexual exploitation, physical punishment, emotional manipulation, or other forms of maltreatment (WHO, 2020). While stay-at-home orders were implemented by officials to control COVID infections, some citizens, especially those in minority groups, might have been at greater risk of victimization within their homes than they would be without the lockdown, which poses by itself a large public health impact. The most vulnerable citizens might also give way to fear and retreat from their support systems (Galea et al., 2020). Chains of abuse, negligence, and/or social Fisolation may amplify pre-existing health issues, which may result in emotional instability. Remote mental health care services such as telemedicine or virtual therapy appointments, although available to the public, may be inconceivable to those who are plagued by feelings of helplessness, and out of reach when victim and perpetrator share the same household. The improbability of accurately addressing each individual count of domestic violence points to the urgency of governments’ prioritization of these matters. As governments address the crises domestically and abroad, they have a duty to protect respective citizens regarding all aspects of the on-going pandemic. The government is not the only one with a unique responsibility. Media outlets as well as other organizations must work together to alleviate public stress and fear in order to protect vulnerable populations from further psychological and/or physical harm. Misinformation creates public distrust towards those in positions of authority and alienates people in leadership roles, as well as from each other. Society is built on trust and if it is lost, the social fabric may be incapacitated.

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Building Resilience Through Community Connections As families and individuals struggle financially and emotionally during the current pandemic, a sense of community may be weakened. Community connections help people get through trauma and aid in the healing process (Shultz et al., 2016). Basic steps to building resilience include maintaining a healthy social network. In addition to helping build individual resilience, a healthy social network also supports community resilience in response to disasters (Lacoviello & Charney, 2014). Notably, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City, therapists learned that family and community-based interventions were helpful in treating loss (Boss et al., 2003). Even though the attack happened in New York, it was deemed an attack on the U.S., bringing a sense of unity across communities (Roza, 2009). Throughout human existence and history, communities have come together in response to a crisis in order to overcome enduring traumatic and global events, such as World War I and World War II. Community connectedness is a crucial part of healing from trauma (Schultz et al, 2016). After a traumatic event occurs, people gain compassion and seek deeper relationship (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). The response a person receives in terms of safety, reassurance, and comfort determines the effects of the trauma (Walsh, 2007). By feeling connected to the community and responding to the traumatic event in a collective and cooperative manner, people have the comfort and reassurance they need in order to heal. With these factors coupled with compassion, people help each other create social networks for support to regulate, relate, and reason. Families and communities can heal and become more resilient by following the four steps conceptualized by Walsh and McGoldrick (2004):

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Acknowledging the traumatic event, Sharing experiences of loss, Organizing the community to help others, and Reinvestments in relationships.

Social support is essential for individual and communal wellbeing and helps buffer stress through collective efforts and awareness (Kaniasty & Norris, 1993; Orford, 1992). Mounting evidence indicates that social connections or the lack of social engagement may indirectly or directly be a psychological, behavioral, and biological pathway to health, wherein loneliness associated with social isolation contributes to poorer health and shortens the lifespan (e.g., Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015). During COVID-19 when social interaction is limited, it is paramount that children have access to a strong community presence and that communities are empowered by their local governments to prepare for times of crisis and be ready to serve during life-threatening times. Partnerships between schools, families, and communities can create a better environment for the development of children and function as healing agents. These partnerships can improve parental skills, connect families within the community, and provide support (Epstein, 2010). Empowered communities can heal each other. The effect of it is that people look out for each other. In times such as COVID, a strong community connection can help relieve some of the experienced stress by simply knowing that they are surrounded by people who care and are ready to help. A community cannot function if it is every man for himself, and consequently will morally and economically stagnate.

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

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Building Resilience for Teaching and Learning Resilient students are those who maintain emotional stability and achieve success in the face of adversity; however, not every student is equipped with the external protective factors and personal characteristics which work in conjunction to provide resilience (Cahill et al., 2014; Munoz et al., 2019). Complications and disruptions of COVID-19 may have obscured pathways to stability for students who were once well-equipped to face challenges. Worldwide students experienced limited access to teachers and friends once the pandemic was officially declared. Communities and educators can make up for this lack by delineating specific pathways to resilience and adopting universal social support practices that encourage student-centered pedagogy and provide mental health support to students. Previously, psychologists have found that affirmative cognitions, social competence, and sense of purpose have all been linked to one’s ability to withstand adversity (Cahill et al., 2014). Educators who adopt an authoritative teaching style, one that strives for high academic standards and realistic student performance, help students cope with uncertain times. Such teaching style is characterized by empathy and compassion to help students succeed and create a safe learning zone where students can have affirmatory child-adult social bond necessary for healthy social development. Depleted participation in extracurricular activities and social endeavors may have also contributed to a loss in students’ sense of purpose and learning motivation. Brunzell et al. (2016) suggest teachers encourage students to use critical thinking skills in the assessment of lifestyle decisions and reactions to stress. Reactive responses to classroom disruptions, for example, may agitate students’ stress response. If teachers are trained in recognizing how stress manifests in their students, they would be able to intervene with their own reactive responses and present a safe environment for self-regulation and the exploration of alternate solutions (Brunzell et. al., 2016). This same approach could be applied to students who become withdrawn or express a loss of interest in novel or preferred activities. Teachers and school psychologists could help students make a distinction between adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, thereby empowering students to take agency of their developing adaptive skills by encouraging students to use new cultural learning tools and experimenting with their affordances. In addition to building resilience, the education system needs to be equipped to help students heal from trauma. Educational institutions which have been strained by COVID-19 will most likely face the unique challenge of assimilating students to effective post-COVID learning practices. Such practices must address the potential for an overactive stress response in the student population. The human biochemical stress response produces a temporary flood of chemicals which interfere with rational thought (Statterfield, 2015). The effect of these chemicals is meant to last only until the perceived threat has dissipated. In this case, students’ increasing mental health concerns and prolonged exposure to global unrest can prevent the engagement of counteractive relaxation responses. Rational thinking, memory establishment, and attention span, which are necessary facets of academic proficiency, are all negatively impacted by the natural human stress response (Statterfield, 2015; Frydman & Mayor, 2017). To remediate these issues, practice-based strategies grounded in research should be in vigor. Formal education in somatic quieting mechanisms through rhythmic and calming activities may remediate acute stress, re-engage the reward circuits of the brain, which help promote the focus necessary for motivational learning and academic development. Somatic quieting exercises are a staple in trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and have been adapted into many trauma-informed school practices, such as the Animating Learning by Integrating and Validating Experience (ALIVE) program (Frydman & Mayor, 2017) and the so called Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBTIS) 11

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

program, which was developed in the United States and has been implemented globally (Morsette et al., 2009). CBTIS sessions might involve controlled breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and imaginative meditation and are all empirically supported somatic techniques for stress and heart rate reduction shown to lower cortisol levels (Carroll et al., 2012; Munoz et al., 2018; Statterfield, 2015). Elevated and prolonged levels of cortisol may disrupt sleep patterns, contribute to anxiety, and create chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity (Rosnick et al., 2016). Cognitive behavioral exercises exemplify the CBT somatic quieting tools and have been welcomed into schools via the ALIVE and CBTIS programs with beneficial outcomes (Morsette et al., 2009). Students’ social structure may have been damaged by life alterations or losses associated with the global pandemic. Consequently, a reintroduction to a healthy structure may be a vital tool in the rebuilding of communities. School trauma programs have considered altered social factors and have incorporated community principles in programs such as the Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) which is recommended by the Center of Adoption Support and Education (CASE) and implemented through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) (2017). The formal program first covers somatic quieting mechanisms considered in CBITS, then explores thought exercises and group support sessions. These meetings are meant to first stimulate discomfort then introduce students to ask for the reprieve of their social support system by gradually reducing the symptoms of traumatic stress (Jaycox et al., 2009).

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS COVID-19 is a developing situation as of January 2021 and more information will be revealed for years to come. With the threat of more pandemics in the 21st century, it is important to analyze and reflect upon all experiences gained through COVID-19. With mental well-being and education at stake, future research should focus on learning from the mistakes made during the current pandemic. With the advancement of digital tools, future research needs to explore how the use of technology improves distant education and can mitigate negative psychological effects on teaching and learning stemming from social isolation. No doubt, technology is here to stay and requires a code of ethics to nurture the widespread, equitable workflow among humans. Families have become reliant on technology to meet all their needs during the pandemic. Children require technological devices and internet access to attend online classes. While parents/guardians work online from home with fragmented attention as described earlier, children are likely to roam the internet unchecked. Internet surfing associated with unsupervised parenting may result in threats to privacy, cyberbullying, cyber predators, frauds, and endanger the psychological and physical safety of children. Digital tools for work and school should help parents/guardians, teachers, or others in enabling safe usage. Future research needs to explore the internet use of children in times of physical distancing, the extent of dangers posed to children, and strategies for effective parenting during a digital age.

CONCLUSION The world population has suffered through past pandemics and crises throughout history. Contemporary access to and exaggerated consumption of various types of media have only increased fear and anxiety among civilians. Fear of infection, economic instability or parental income loss coupled with the suspen12

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 A 21st Century Response to Global Crisis

sion of educational and social practices have challenged the resilience of school-age children and their communities. Evidence suggests that heightened negative emotions associated with loss of security and control have pushed people towards taking action and to the streets to participate in demonstrations and marches against social injustice for social change (Bavel et al., 2020; World Politics Review, 2021). As the entire world underwent major social transformations, mandated school and daycare closures due to the novel coronavirus have devastated education and social systems around the world. As children grapple with distance/online learning and loss of social connections, additional stress has been added to the plates of already exhausted parents/guardians fearing income insecurity. To effectively tackle the aversive consequences of the current pandemic, rethinking the education system for a post-COVID-19 through a critical review of history and assessment of the world’s current macro and micro systems of operation is indispensable. Learning does not necessarily happen in physical spaces but requires equitable access to education, where qualified teachers apply student-centered activities in safe, predictable, new spaces to engage students for life-long learning. Community connections can help adapt to a new norm despite alarming global disruptions and social transformations. With financial global support, sharing ideas of scientific and technological innovation and advancements, effective measures to further prevent mental health challenges can be implemented in suffering communities. Collaborative research can offer tailored services and resources to diverse communities. Cross-national comparative research and transparent data sharing will be foundational to sustain human wellbeing and to prevent future pandemics. The advancements in medicine and technology may be a beacon of hope for a more equitable humanity. The awareness of a collective responsibility among various stakeholders is fundamental in the creation and application of cultural tools that promote and protect society’s diversity and core ethical values. The COVID-19 era can be defined as socio-emotionally taxing. No doubt, the trauma of COVID-19 will be hard to overcome. Yet such unprecedented times also provide a unique opportunity to cultivate community connections, build resilience, and find ethical solutions in times of rapid technological growth. Local communities, governments, and international organizations have the chance to work together in an interconnected world and improve the lives of countless people who have been suffering. By improving the health and education system, focusing on community-based solutions, following trauma-informed pedagogy, and relying on research-based approaches, significant steps can be taken to safeguard future health (Walsh, 2007). Human ingenuity and technological breakthroughs should be used in repairing and strengthening the social fabric of humanity to overcome any crises.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors thank Billal Abel Atamnia, School Psychologist, for the time he has committed to the development of this manuscript. The authors also extend their gratitude to the two blind reviewers and both editors for the improvement of this chapter.

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Bradbury‐Jones, C., & Isham, L. (2020). The pandemic paradox: The consequences of COVID‐19 on domestic violence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(13–14), 2047–2049. doi:10.1111/jocn.15296 PMID:32281158 Brunzell, T., Stokes, H., & Waters, L. (2016). Trauma-Informed Positive Education: Using Positive Psychology to Strengthen Vulnerable Students. Contemporary School Psychology, 20(1), 63–83. doi:10.100740688-015-0070-x Burke Harris, N. (2018). The deepest well: Healing the long term effects of childhood adversity. Pan Macmillan. Cahill, H., Beadle, S., Farrelly, A., Forester, R., & Smith, K. (2014). Building resilience in children and young people. Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

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Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Edwards, V., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258. doi:10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8 PMID:9635069 Frydman, J. S., & Mayor, C. (2017). Trauma and early adolescent development: Case examples from a trauma-informed public health middle school program. Children & Schools, 39(4), 238–247. doi:10.1093/ cs/cdx017 Galea, S., Merchant, R. M., & Lurie, N. (2020). The mental health consequences of COVID-19 and physical distancing. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(6), 817. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1562 PMID:32275292 García-Moreno, C., Pallitto, C., Devries, K., Stöckl, H., Watts, C., & Abrahams, N. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. World Health Organization.

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Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2020). The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences by media exposure. Health Psychology, 39(5), 355–357. doi:10.1037/hea0000875 PMID:32202824 Goodman, P. S. (2020). One vaccine side effect: Global economic inequality. New York Times. Greenhow, C., & Chapman, A. (2020). Social distancing meet social media: Digital tools for connecting students, teachers, and citizens in an emergency. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(5/6), 341–352. doi:10.1108/ILS-04-2020-0134 Hair, N. L., Hanson, J. L., Wolfe, B. L., & Pollak, S. D. (2015). Association of child poverty, brain development, and academic achievement. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(9), 822–829. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1475 PMID:26192216 Heckman, J. J. (2011). The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education. American Educator, 35(1), 31–36. Hinnant, L. (2020, November 10). As virus spikes, Europe runs low on ICU beds, hospital staff. ABC News. Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227–237. doi:10.1177/1745691614568352 PMID:25910392 Horowitz, J. (2020, December 22). For Europe, it is wave after wave of coronavirus. The New York Times. Huo, L., & Cheng, Y. (2018). The impact of media coverage and emergency strategies on the rumor spreading. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2018, 1–14. doi:10.1155/2018/4137129 Jaycox, L. H., Langley, A. K., Stein, B. D., Wong, M., Sharma, P., Scott, M., & Schonlau, M. (2009). Support for students exposed to trauma: A pilot study. School Mental Health, 1(2), 49–60. doi:10.100712310009-9007-8 PMID:20811511 Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan.

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Kaniasty, K., & Norris, F. H. (1993). A test of the social support deterioration model in the context of natural disaster. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(3), 395–408. doi:10.1037/00223514.64.3.395 PMID:8468668 Karatzias, T., Jowett, S., Yan, E., Raeside, R., & Howard, R. (2017). Depression and resilience mediate the relationship between traumatic life events and ill physical health: Results from a population study. Psychology Health and Medicine, 22(9), 1021–1031. doi:10.1080/13548506.2016.1257814 PMID:27832708 Kelly, J. (2020, May 24). In rural areas, teachers adjust to COVID-19 as students drive 30 miles to access the internet. Washington State Journal. Kershner, I., & Belluck, P. (2020, August 4). When covid subsided, Israel reopened its schools. It didn’t go well. New York Times. Kirkos, B. (2020, August 14). Former Minneapolis officer told investigators call for backup in George Floyd altercation sounded ‘urgent’. CNN.

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Lacoviello, B., & Charney, D. (2014). Psychosocial facets of resilience: Implications for preventing posttrauma psychopathology, treating trauma survivors, and enhancing community resilience. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1). PMID:25317258 Lee, J. (2020). Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet. Child & Adolescent Health, 4(6), 421. doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7 PMID:32302537 Li, C., & Lalani, F. (2020, August 25). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. World Economic Forum. Liang, X., Zhu, Y., & Fang, Y. (2020). COVID‐19 and post‐traumatic stress disorder: A vicious circle involving immunosuppression. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 26(8), 876–878. doi:10.1111/ cns.13431 PMID:32678521 Livingstone, S., & Byrne, J. (2018). Parenting in the digital age. In G. Mascheroni, C. Ponte, & A. Jorge (Eds.), Digital parenting: The challenges for families in the digital age (pp. 19-30). Nordicom. Mackinnon, S. P. (2012). Perceived social support and academic achievement: Cross-lagged panel and bivariate growth curve analyses. Youth Adolescence, 41(1), 474–485. doi:10.100710964-011-9691-1 PMID:21720859 Marchetti, D., Fontanesi, L., Mazza, C., Giandomenico, S., Roma, P., & Verrocchio, M. (2020). Parentingrelated exhaustion during the Italian COVID-19 lockdown. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 45(10), 1114–1123. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa093 PMID:33068403 McNamara, A. (2020, August 11). COVID-19 cases among children in U.S. up 90% over four weeks, report says. CBS News. Morsette, A., Swaney, G., Stolle, D., Schuldberg, D., van den Pol, R., & Young, M. (2009). Cognitive behavioral intervention for trauma in schools (CBITS): School-based treatment on a rural American Indian reservation. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 40(1), 169–178. doi:10.1016/j. jbtep.2008.07.006 PMID:18835478 Mundt, M., Ross, K., & Burnett, C. M. (2018). Scaling social movements through social media: The case of black lives matter. Social Media + Society, 4(4), 1–14. doi:10.1177/2056305118807911

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Munoz, R. T., Hanks, H., & Hellman, C. (2019). Hope and resilience as distinct contributors to psychological flourishing among childhood trauma survivors. Traumatology, 26(2), 177–184. doi:10.1037/ trm0000224 Munoz, R. T., Hoppes, S., Hellman, C. M., Brunk, K. L., Bragg, J. E., & Cummins, C. (2018). The effects of mindfulness meditation on hope and stress. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(6), 696–707. doi:10.1177/1049731516674319 Nelson-Coffey, S. K., & Stewart, D. (2019). Well-being in parenting. In Handbook of Parenting (pp. 596-619). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780429433214-17 Opalka, A., Gable, A., Nicola, T., & Ash, J. (2020, August 10). Rural school districts can be creative in solving the internet connectivity gap-but they need support. Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard.

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Orford, J. (1992). Community psychology: Theory and practice. John Wiley and Sons. Philipose, R. (2020, September 6). COVID-19: A look at anti-mask rallies held around the world amid the pandemic. Indiana Express. Porche, M., Fortuna, L. R., Lin, J., & Algeria, M. (2011). Childhood trauma and psychiatric disorders as correlates of school dropout in a national sample of young adults. Child Development, 82(3), 982–998. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01534.x PMID:21410919 Rapp, D. N. (2016). The consequences of reading inaccurate information. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(4), 281–285. doi:10.1177/0963721416649347 Rauhala, E., & Morris, L. (2020, November 13). In the United States, QAnon is struggling. The conspiracy theory is thriving abroad. The Washington Post. Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Beltekian, D., Mathieu, E., Hasell, J., Macdonald, B., . . ., & Roser, M. (January 13, 2021). Coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths. Our World in Data. Rosnick, C. B., Wetherell, J. L., White, K. S., Andreescu, C., Dixon, D., & Lenze, E. J. (2016). Cognitivebehavioral therapy augmentation of SSRI reduces cortisol levels in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(4), 345–352. doi:10.1037/a0040113 PMID:26881447 Roza, M. (2009). ‘America under attack’: unity and division after 9/11. In D. Rubin & J. Verheul (Eds.), American Multiculturalism After 9/11: Transatlantic Perspectives (pp. 105–117). Amsterdam UP. Schultz, K., Cattaneo, L. B., Sabina, C., Brunner, L., Jackson, S., & Serrata, J. V. (2016). Key roles of community connectedness in healing from trauma. Psychology of Violence, 6(1), 42–48. doi:10.1037/ vio0000025 Schwartz, S. (2020, December 01). Survey: Teachers and students are struggling with online learning. Education Week. Sherman, L.W. (2020). Targeting American policing: Rogue cops or rogue cultures? Camb J Evid Based Polic, 1-12.

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Shern, D. L., Blanch, A. K., & Steverman, S. M. (2016). Toxic stress, behavioral health, and the next major era in public health. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(2), 109–123. doi:10.1037/ ort0000120 PMID:26963181 Statterfield, J. M. (2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy: Techniques for retraining your brain. The Great Courses. Stewart, N. (2020, Aug. 7). Child abuse cases drop 51 percent. The authorities are very worried. New York Times. Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455–471. doi:10.1002/jts.2490090305 PMID:8827649 The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2017). Support for students exposed to trauma: School support for childhood trauma. Author.

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Tizzoni, M., Panisson, A., Paolotti, D., & Cattuto, C. (2020). The impact of news exposure on collective attention in the United States during the 2016 Zika epidemic. PLoS Computational Biology, 16(3), e1007633. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007633 PMID:32163409 Trussler, M., & Soroka, S. (2014). Consumer demand for cynical and negative news frames. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 19(3), 360–379. doi:10.1177/1940161214524832 UNESCO. (2020, July). COVID-19 response – remote learning strategy. Remote learning strategy as a key element in ensuring continued learning. UNESCO. Ustun, G. (2020). Determining depression and related factors in a society affected by COVID-19 pandemic. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 1–10. doi:10.1177/0020764020938807 PMID:32605422 Wallace, A. (2020, June 24). I’ve been sick with COVID-19 for 3 months. Here’s what you should know. Huffington Post. Walsh, F. (2007). Traumatic loss and major disasters: Strengthening family and community resilience. Family Process, 46(2), 207–227. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2007.00205.x PMID:17593886 Walsh, F. (2007). Traumatic loss and major disasters: Strengthening family and community resilience. Family Process, 46(2), 207–227. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2007.00205.x PMID:17593886 Walsh, F., & McGoldrick, M. (2004). Loss and the family: A systemic perspective. In F. Walsh & M. McGoldrick (Eds.), Living beyond loss: Death in the family (2nd ed., pp. 3–26). Norton. Wang, D., Hu, B., Hu, C., Zhu, F., Liu, X., Zhang, J., Wang, B., Xiang, H., Cheng, Z., Xiong, Y., Zhao, Y., Li, Y., Wang, X., & Peng, Z. (2020). Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus–infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Journal of the American Medical Association, 323(11), 1061–1069. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.1585 PMID:32031570 Ward, A. (2020, July 15). The key lesson from school openings abroad: Contain the virus. Vox. Watson, K. (2020, November 19). Coronavirus: The realities of schooling in rural Brazil. BBC. World Health Organization. (2020a, January 30). Statement on the second meeting of the international health regulations (2005) emergency committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019nCoV). WHO. World Health Organization. (2020b, June 20). Violence against children. WHO.

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World Politics Review. (2021, January 13). The age of global protest. World Review Politics. Xiong, T. Y., Redwood, S., Prendergast, B., & Chen, M. (2020). Coronaviruses and the cardiovascular system: Acute and long-term implications. European Heart Journal, 41(19), 1798–1800. doi:10.1093/ eurheartj/ehaa231 PMID:32186331 Yazbeck, A. S., & Soucat, A. (2019). When both markets and governments fail health. Health Systems and Reform, 5(4), 268–279. doi:10.1080/23288604.2019.1660756 PMID:31684822 Yeager, A. (2020, March 24). Lost smell and taste hint COVID-19 can target the nervous system. Scientist (Philadelphia, Pa.).

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ADDITIONAL READING Duan, L., Shao, X., Wang, Y., Huang, Y., Miao, J., Yang, X., & Zhu, G. (2020). An investigation of mental health status of children and adolescents in china during the outbreak of COVID-19. Journal of Affective Disorders, 1(275), 112–118. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.029 PMID:32658812 Griffith, A. K. (2020). Parental burnout and child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family Violence, 1-7. Jaycox, L. H., Langley, A. K., & Hoover, S. A. (2018). Cognitive behavioral intervention for trauma in schools (CBITS). Rand Corporation. doi:10.7249/TL272 Torales, J., O’Higgins, M., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., & Ventriglio, A. (2020). The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(4), 317–320. doi:10.1177/0020764020915212 PMID:32233719 Van der Kolk, B. A. (1994). The body keeps the score: Memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1(5), 253–265. doi:10.3109/10673229409017088 PMID:9384857

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Coping: Effectively dealing with negative stimuli. Critical Thinking: Evaluating scenarios or situations to make sound decisions or judgements based on knowledge. Family Dynamics: How members of a family interact with each other and what are the established roles for each family member. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Trauma- and stressor-related disorder, which can cause increased stress and anxiety in reaction to reoccurring distressing memories of the traumatic event. Resilience: The ability to cope with and overcome adversities and/or trauma. Stress Response System: The fight or flight response initiated by the body because of a perceived threat. Trauma: Unbearable and disturbing experiences (e.g., sudden death of a loved one, rape, childhood abuse) or events (e.g., natural disaster, war, 911) that cause emotional or physical distress. Trauma-Informed Teaching: Adaptive teaching strategies to help create a safer, predictable learning environment for students suffering from trauma.

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Chapter 2

Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis Erin Guydish Buchholz The Grier School, USA

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 crisis is impacting global society in a nearly unprecedented manner. One fractured experience is the 2019/2020 school experience. This calls attention to the impact on students’ identity, agency, and sense of place within the world. This search requires exploring the impact rhetoric and sociolinguistics have in and outside of the classroom. Programs utilizing digital tools advance students’ identities, honor agency, and understand changes in the world. Allowing students a space to express their experiences, as well as see their peers in various global destinations, begins refections on how social environments are impacting students. Incorporating conscientious uses of rhetoric and sociolinguistics within one’s classroom encourages three learning outcomes for students: 1) it establishes student agency, 2) it helps defne and explore the concept of global citizenship, and 3) it encourages students to develop transferable critical thinking skills particularly.

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INTRODUCTION Today, rhetoric, conventionally associated with speech-making, politics, and reaction-evoking writing, has become a “dirty” word. Rhetoric is considered a practice to make audiences feel or think a particular way. While this is partially true, neglecting the positive ways rhetoric is used creates an injustice to how the world can be understood (Lunceford, 2012; Kroll, 2005). In relation to the complex network of literacies, sociocultural environments, and student learning, sociolinguistics are often ignored components of students’ daily existence (Wargo & De Costa, 2017). The world, one’s culture, and one’s experiences are shaped by the language a person and his/her community use. In a global environment where spoken and written mediums are more readily available than during any other age, it is not only vital, but necessary to assist students in understanding how language use shapes digital and physical environments. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch002

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

As such, sociolinguistics and rhetoric have a role in the classroom, because they help students better understand and interact with their surroundings. In this regard, Bloome et al. (2005) justified analyzing student, teacher, and peer interactions explaining “At the center of what happens in classrooms is language: the language used by teachers and students, the language of texts and textbooks, the language of school and school district policies, the language of parents and children” (p. xvi). Additionally, they explain the power of language writing that “Language is both the object of classroom lessons” and “the means of learning” (Bloome et. al., 2005, p. xvi). Therefore, language and learning are inextricably linked. Understanding how language and social interactions can be used effectively as well as advancing techniques to foster transferrable learning in students’ lives should be key pedagogical aims especially during this crisis time of disrupted, online learning. Additionally, in a world that is being molded by evolving technologies, methods of social interaction, and political/legal influences, students should be instructed in interpretive techniques, agency development, and responsible citizenship applicable to classrooms and global stages. Unarguably, the COVID-19 crisis is impacting global society in unprecedented manners. One of the most fractured experiences in the 2019/2020 year is the school experience. A few schools closed the year completely; however, the majority worked with digital or printed curriculums. Many (Alawdat, 2020; Darby, 2020; Toor, 2020) have acknowledged that teachers have been challenged by these circumstances, and students are performing in environments where schooling typically does not take place or is limited. One of the most significant questions to explore is the impact this crisis is having for students’ identity, agency, and sense of place within the world. Part of the answer to this lies in exploring the impact rhetoric and sociolinguistics have in and outside of the classroom.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This chapter investigates incorporating rhetoric and sociolinguistics, whether it be in-person or digital environments, to establish student agency, define and explore the concept of global citizenship, and encourage students to develop transferrable critical thinking skills. Therefore, this work seeks to define and explore student agency facilitated by educators and as a self-work process during times of social distancing and online learning. Additionally, it explores how notions of global awareness have been or can be influenced in times of crises, especially through virtual learning processes of the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, it strives to acknowledge techniques that redirect curricular goals and learning activities to incorporate outcomes, explicitly or implicitly, addressing circumstances rising from the COVID crisis or other disruptive crises. This work aims to uncover useful practices through theoretical and experiential works for educators to consider as they create learning environments where students can thrive individually, collaboratively, emotionally, and academically throughout turbulent events.

BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW The COVID-19 crisis converted face-to-face interactions to online and virtual platforms. This switch requires a critical, thoughtful analysis to produce best outcomes. Alawdat (2020) draws attention to digital tools and strategies for teachers to elevate their work during this trying transition. With like concerns, this chapter explores through a theoretical framework as well as lived experience how instructors can 22

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

strengthen their pedagogies by combining and revising traditional face-to-face strategies within online environments to produce significant learning outcomes and engaged classroom spaces that draw on reallife experiences. Specifically, this chapter inquires how developing student coping skills, student agency, and an awareness of global citizenship can become effective pedagogical components for instructors converting from conventional classrooms to virtual environments. Creating the foundation for this work, Klemenčič (2015) established a useful definition of agency indicating how student agency is developed, why, and what effects it has. Klemenčič (2015) asserts that student agency is temporally and sociologically based. Student agency is flexible and has the potential for various outcomes at differing moments and in diverse environments. Perhaps, the clearest distillation of student agency and its potential for change is

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a process of student actions and interactions during studentship, which encompasses variable notions of agentic orientation (“will”), the way students relate to past, present, and future in making choices of action and interaction, and of agentic possibility (“power”), that is their perceived power to achieve intended outcomes in a particular context of action and interaction, but also to self-engagement of a critical reflexive kind. (Klemenčič, 2015, p. 17) Significantly, student agency is created through developments of one’s opinions and argumentation skills meaning the ability of a student to appropriately utilize rhetoric and its techniques. As such, Literature and English classes offer unique environments to delve into the power of language alongside identity formation. One useful approach for analyzing and promoting critical thought regarding class content is Critical Discourse Analysis (Roger et al, 2016). Reflecting on the ways language empowers, limits, and complicates how identity is formed, prescribed, and perceived gives students power to create, manipulate, and manifest their own identities through language, social interactions, and critical thinking processes. Alawdat’s (2020) chapter emphasizes how digital learning environments are causing instructors and students to adjust to a variety of new educational and digital circumstances. These changes cause educators to reconsider their identities within these environments based on these evolving tasks and conversations. Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics are well-suited practices that promote critical thinking about language, its use, and its implicit/explicit influence on identity and agency. Student agency manifests, in part, in student coping skills. Kosgey and Mukaka (2018) analyzed students’ stressors and coping strategies while studying abroad. They noted that, when experiencing stress, many foreign students use social activities and interactions as coping mechanisms. While the study suggests facilitating social activities and interactions among international and host students, some of these recommendations, such as emphasizing collaborative activities and diverse pairings during these interactions, provide theoretical backing for this chapter’s approaches. Furthermore, Alawdat (2020) observes that “Many schools and teachers were not ready and still are not. But they have to cope with the situation and keep teaching” (p. 93). She emphasizes the need to recognize that the COVID-19 online learning experiences impact instructors and learners who are entering educational journeys unprepared, but doing their best to find strategies to improve educational experiences for all. With specific elements of COVID-19 student experience defined by agency, rhetoric, and coping mechanisms, instructors blend traditional pedagogical elements with innovative components to be effective. Pedagogical practices that mitigate some stressors raised by the crisis have been publicly discussed. Darby (2020) wrote of strategies for developing online learning environments. She encouraged active online learning as well as empathetic learning management system structures, such as offering 23

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

students various ways to connect with the instructor, one another, and course materials. In addition, she stressed the need to be considerate of students’ social environments and their impact on learning abilities. Additionally, Toor (2020) addressed strategies and emphasized, as Darby (2020) and Kosgey and Mukaka (2018) suggested, that constructing a sense of community is vital in assisting students through moments of crisis. Fully comprehending how language, education, and global and local environments interact to create the learner’s world can provide better informed pedagogies. Bloome et al. (2005) analyzed the function of classrooms, society, and linguistics in developing student agency, identity, and educational outcomes. Their work unpacks how identity is complex, flexible, and correlated to linguistics. Many of the practical suggestions are rooted in the basis that writing and social education-based environments may have a positive effect on learners’ identities. Similarly, Wargo and De Costa (2017) reflected on multimodal classroom communications as a way to examine themes similar to Bloome et al.’s (2005) while incorporating a study of contemporary conditions. Specifically, Wargo and De Costa emphasized flexibility in identities due to technology, globalization, and post-multicultural ideologies. The flexibility in identities that Bloome et al. as well as Wargo and De Costa discussed provides the platform to understand how practical educational activities can empower identity and agency formation. Altogether, these sources provide an understanding of learner identities in and out of classrooms and offer models for instigating student growth. Fully grasping the COVID-19 pandemic calls for examining its global implications. It is vital to analyze the relationship between language, global citizenship, and social interactions especially in institutions with high levels of international students. Ullman (2010) analyzed the effects of a fraudulent literacy program on language learners. His work demonstrates a combined influence of social mythos, socio-cultural environments, and economic mythos on learner outcomes. Rose and Galloway (2017) investigated student perceptions of diverse Englishes and identity, specifically Singlish, Singaporean combined with English. Similar to Ullman’s concerns, Rose and Galloway investigated how language, power, and identity interact in educational and social environments. Both gesture to the need to reflect on social and cultural circumstances to understand best educational practices that assist students’ solidified identity in times of transition. Additionally, during the COVID-19 educational transition, it is important to become a better online educator. Pelz (2010) offered practical and almost time-honored techniques for interactive online environments. Pelz provided suggestions to balance instructor workload, foster student agency, and increase the amount of active learning. On the other hand, Kim and Freberg (2018) analyzed student and instructor perceptions of online education to offer suggestions in creating online environments for students and instructors. Both offer methods to ease learner transitions from conventional classrooms to online learning environments. Finally, addressing current events is necessary so students can judiciously form comprehension of information sources. Thus, Lang’s (2013, 2016) studies give guidance in understanding and creating classroom activities in which students invest. He recommends comprehending the student’s in- and outof-class circumstances as parts of developing classroom design. In addition, Manning (2020) asserted that the individual in the class, current events, and social/cultural circumstances are “required reading” for instructors. Teachers must reflect on who students are, as well as where they come from, to develop useful materials and instruction. These resources trace and engage complex contemporary educational environments that affect student agency, globalized culture, and the medias through which education, culture, and current events are 24

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

communicated. These works provide a theoretical basis for exploring best practices to assist students in understanding crises, exploring coping strateges, and continuing meaningful education. As instructors navigate COVID-19 consequences, best practices need to be solidified, expanded, and creatively interpreted. In some cases, sound pedagogy translates into new environments using alternative materials to slightly reinvent teaching techniques to further enhance student engagement and outcomes during times of crisis and distraction.

METHODOLOGY This study identifies and offers pedagogical strategies to encourage meaningful learning and more engaging, encouraging lessons during times of crises. These methods are from a combination of theoretical analysis of pedagogical research as well as the author’s and students’ experience during the COVID-19 crisis. Being an American literature instructor with college-level education experience encouraged the author to reflect on how education, specifically literature and rhetoric, creates student agency and identity within and outside of the classroom. The author instructed tenth-grade American literature courses in a college preparatory curriculum at a private all-girls’ boarding school in Pennsylvania. Her students ranged in age from 14 to 18. Of the nearly 60 students enrolled, approximately one-half were from various areas in America, one-third came from Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam, one was from Greece, two were from Bermuda, and the remainder were from Mexico. This work analyzes how theoretical foundations of establishing student agency, defining and exploring the concept of global citizenship, and encouraging students to develop transferrable critical thinking skills simulates pedagogical development in times of crisis. These pedagogical goals manifested during the COVID-19 online learning transition in activities that incorporated real life experiences; discussed the crisis; explored how to use and interpret media wisely; reestablished the classroom space; and fostered students’ reconnections.

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THE EMPHASIS RHETORIC AND SOCIOLINGUISTICS HAS IN ONLINE LEARNING While the COVID crisis has disrupted much, it opened opportunities, especially in utilizing digital tools to advance students’ identities, honor agency, and understand the changing world. While instructors navigate these times, it is crucial to consider, as Ullman (2010) explained, “if social interaction is how learning happens, it is also how identities are constructed” (p.163). Ulman’s point is salient for the author as an English instructor in an American institution with many international students. During the COVID transition, it is clear that digital tools provide students a chance to respond to questions, individually and collaboratively, such as: • • •

What does the world look like, when you see it from your home? How do you form your own views, when living 24/7 at home? How is the world experiencing this crisis in similar and diferent ways?

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

Asking students to explore these inquiries, rather than relying on media depictions, helps students become savvier in determining how media can manipulate information, as well as how to mitigate those mass influences. Allowing students a digital space to express experiences begins reflecting, implicitly, on how social environments are impacting students. Additionally, this offers the opportunity for students to gain perspective through student-generated material regarding contemporary events. In this regard, students are the ones verbally and digitally constructing as well as interpreting their global community. This study seeks to demonstrate how incorporating a conscientious use of rhetoric and sociolinguistics within one’s classroom, whether it be in-person or digital, encourages three significant learning outcomes for students, as it is will be explained below: • • •

It establishes student agency; It helps defne and explore the concept of global citizenship; and It encourages students to develop transferrable critical thinking skills, particularly regarding the analysis of mass media and news sources.

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Establish Student Agency During COVID-19 where young students are often disparaged by mass and social medias, it becomes important to empower students’ sense of self as a coping mechanism for educational and other endeavors. Incorporating rhetorical and sociolinguistic analyses of literature can transfer learning practices to cultural analyses. Critical Discourse Analysis identifies and explores power structures and struggles established through linguistic and social structures (Rogers et al., 2016). Applying practices that incorporate these analytical tools—understanding how language and power are correlated—to literature and language use emphasizes the need to comprehend how the same relationship between language and power exists in the global environment. For example, students in the author’s Honors American Literature course perform a discourse analysis of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Students fill out a chart defining each main character’s American dream and whether s/he achieved it successfully. Students are then prompted to switch American dreams of two characters. Next, students discuss if the characters would have the same outcomes regarding their American dreams based on the characters’ social circumstances such as economic, linguistic, and social. Due to the time that has lapsed since Hansberry’s original production, discussions of contemporary social circumstances, political rhetorics, and social justice issues arises from the students’ works. Finally, students redefine the American dream based on their study of roles and dream exchanges. Tying this study of power and language into contemporary situations introduces opportunities for students to begin negotiating global environments and situations transferring their understanding of language and power structures to establish their selfhood as well as how to subvert power systems, as characters in Hansberry’s piece do. This assignment introduces how power, language, and actions, even individual small ones, are interconnected. Once these links have been established, student agency can be further incorporated by using assignments that address students’ lives and global circumstances more directly. Recognizing the complexity of student lives, for example using assignments where students themselves are the subject, aids in establishing student agency. These activities recognize that:

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

Classrooms are complex places where teachers and students create and re-create, adopt and adapt, and engage in a full range of human interactions. Teachers and students are viewed as active agents. Although teachers and students must act within the events, contexts, and settings in which they find themselves, and although they must react to the actions of others and the social institutions of which they are a part, they nonetheless act on the worlds in which they live. (Bloome et al., 2005, p. xvi) Additionally, in a disrupted classroom within a disjointed world, providing students the opportunity to take control and establish agency within assignments promotes the idea that school is a place for exploring one’s world and self–not an environment to be inculcated with someone else’s thoughts and information.

Explore Global Citizenship Bringing an analysis of rhetoric and sociolinguistics through literary study establishes skills students need to define and explore global citizenship. All classrooms need to realize that “any use of language (e.g., spoken, written, and electronic) involves complex social, cultural, political, cognitive, and linguistic processes and contexts—all of which are part of the meaning and significance of reading, writing, and using language” (Bloome et al., 2005, p. xvii). Once the usefulness of these educational and personal activities is prioritized, instructors can encourage students to see the connections between what is done in coursework and what citizens should do in everyday life. Rose and Galloway (2017) addressed some of these concerns in their study on the effect of valuing a “standard” form of English over a dialectical variation in Singapore. One of Rose and Galloway’s participants discusses the complex identity created by, essentially, code-switching according to one’s environment. The participant explains there is an “inherent contradiction in feeling support for the use of Singlish [a mixed version of English and Singaporean] in an informal setting, which she saw as essential to preserve it, while seeing the intelligibility of Singlish as problematic in business contexts” (Rose & Galloway, 2017, p. 299). These concerns are often similarly raised in American contexts, particularly regarding “white voices,” thick Southern dialects, multiculturalism/multilingualism, and/or Spanglish (DeLuca, 2018). In Rose and Galloway’s (2017) study, students did raise the idea that dialects and variations on Standard English impact identity and belonging, which should be brought into discussions within global communities. What still needs to be examined is addressing the binary identities that these types of setting-based language use can create.

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Develop Transfer of Learning and Literacy Skills Creating positive work environments and outcomes for students within the COVID-19 crisis requires engaging with and facilitating informed methods of interacting with global environments. Wargo and De Costa (2017) explained that Pedagogically, and in the spirit of earlier academic literacies research, it is vitally important that we examine the lived sociolinguistic realities of youth today. In an educational era that increasingly emphasizes standards-based tests and test-based literacy, literacy sponsorscapes serve as a reminder of the vital need to draw on the resources that students bring with them to the classroom and to create pathways of access for those who encounter limited access. (p. 111)

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

As a result, it is vital that educators incorporate activities that use techniques such as know-want to know-learned charts or current events materials. As the author indicated above, helping students understand ways to evaluate resources, share information, and discriminate between reliable and unauthoritative resources will lead to more transferable lessons and well-rounded students. Furthermore, a pedagogical approach exploring class content, current events, and various medium helps create meaningful learning opportunities. Darby (2020) asserted that “Above all, connect with students online this fall by letting them see you are not perfect” and also try to “Ask them what works” (para. 22). Darby added, “When you’re willing to learn from, and with, students, you model a sense of humility, a desire to improve, a willingness to change your mind. I cannot think of a better lesson to teach in today’s increasingly contentious world” (para. 22). Learning with students, therefore, establishes what beneficial learners look like, how to make useful inquiries, and ways to locate as well as determine valuable and reliable information. Additionally, incorporating new materials ensures that students might raise questions to answer together and offers a basis for student recognition that teachers are learners, too. These techniques allow students to see instructors in relational ways, rather than authority figures. When students are already feeling vulnerable due to crisis circumstances, such relationships may assist in creating meaningful, affirmative social interactions.

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STUDENT AGENCY AND GLOBAL COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP One of the final observations in Rose and Galloway’s study is a participant’s reaction that history informs language–Standard English varies based upon which English colonizer or occupant a particular geographic location experienced. For example, in Rose and Galloway’s (2017) study, one participant pointed out that, since Japan was occupied by America, American English is considered Standard, but, due to Britain’s influence in Singapore, British English is the Standard there. In other words, is there actually a Standard English, anyway? To make this less abstract, it is necessary to consider the value of studying texts written in dialect or vernacular. Often, students find these challenging, and second language learners frequently find the reading experience disruptive or frustrating. Often, tenth-grade students at the researcher’s secondary American institution express difficulty reading vernacular, and, when the author provides the option of reading along with an audio book, students will take this option. Guerrettaz and Zahler (2017) also noted this frustration by international undergraduates when reading A Lesson Before Dying. When teaching in the U.S., instructors can draw a clear comparison between how students interact in classrooms and how they do with their speech patterns in work environments, at home, with peers, and/or with siblings. This becomes salient when teachers and students address discussions regarding cultural, racial, or ethnic differences. As DeLuca (2018) asserted, teachers must be conscientious when using class content regarding identity markers to “recognize our responsibility to contribute to the well-being of others” (p. 12). Her point references the need to see the connection between course content, lived experiences, and relationships with students’ lives. Coursework, currently rooted in online and at home environments, needs to recognize the ways students have more control over their educational experiences. For example, during this crisis, students have the opportunity to strengthen their online presence. Practitioners are employing more digital tools which offer the opportunity to use avatars, screennames, and/or blogging and video technologies. If instructors take the initiative to concurrently develop creative assignments, learners may be able to express themselves in digital manners reminiscent of a new type of ‘vernacular’ or identify themselves in ways 28

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

that are counter to mainstream identity markers; this would provide the students with more opportunity to become self-aware than conventional classrooms do. This potential use of student power will reflect conceptions of student agency that Klemenčič (2015) addressed. Klemenčič explained how student agency needs to be reconceived, but two of the most important changes are emphasizing the idea that student agency exists in and out of classrooms and is invested in implicit or explicit outcomes. Reconnecting activities with the study of works written in vernacular emphasizes how written and spoken pieces can create platforms to fully develop student agencies and identities. Acknowledging student agency and the global environment requires instructors to broach complicated subjects and acknowledge students’ value systems. This may be daunting, but it is doable. Additionally, instructors must act more as facilitators during these analytical exercises, rather than ideological inculcators. Students must be responsible in drawing connections between their lived experiences and those, for example, of a character in a text. Lang (2016) explained the importance of this student-led work in what he calls small teaching techniques; “For the connections to be meaningful and effective, the students have to form them. Your task is to create an environment that facilitates the formation of those connections rather than simply lecturing at them about connections” (p. 98). Lang (2016) emphasizes the cognitive components of agency development as well explaining, “They have to build up the connected networks in their own brains—with our help” (p. 98). This work is linked to the work of establishing one’s global identity. If students can develop a sense of their place within the world by understanding and exploring their role in the digital classroom, educators assist in advancing transferrable global identity by helping to create and maintain blended identities, rather than disparate ones. During educational change and homelife disruption, it is crucial that educators accept the “the work of promoting empathy and tolerance” (Manning, 2020, para. 2). It is our responsibility to be “willing to lean into the difficulty and discomfort of social teaching and embrace the complexities that surround topics like race, equity, and social justice in 2020” (Manning, 2020, para. 2). If teachers neglect to expand conversations beyond the walls of their classes or the boxes on the digital screen, they restrict their students’ ability to reflect on how their in-class experiences contribute to their social, verbal, and written world, which is especially critical when learners are limited to the four walls of their home. To encourage student agency and global citizenship development, it is vital to incorporate analysis and discussion of media rhetoric, social groups impacted by linguistic events, and conversation of current events. Lunceford (2012) defined media rhetoric explaining that “one must look at media not as something outside the sphere of rhetoric, but rather as a part of the system by which we define who we are, what we should value, and how we should behave” (p. 223). While the scope of Lunceford’s inquiry is centered on entertainment mediums, it is just as important to reflect on the power of medias including social networking tools, music, literature, television/films, websites, and news networks. Furthermore, as Ullman (2010) pointed out, “identities are forged through our participation in the social world, including interaction with institutions such as education, the media, and the nation-state. These forces affect learners’ beliefs about themselves, their language learning, and their sense of belonging” (p. 163). This means, for example, that, in literature classes, instructors must think critically about which texts students use and who is represented or lacking in their curriculums. However, instructors, curriculum designers, and administrators must reflect on and provide “students alternatives to the prevailing, dominant narrative, because this is often the white narrative which sometimes carries incorrect notions of supremacy that are tied to systemic racism” (Manning, 2020, para. 6). Representation and inclusivity are not enough. Educational practitioners must consider how groups are represented. When working with texts, it is vital to recognize ways that characters manifest, traits of global citizenship, as well as other group identi29

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

ties. These practices establish that “Teaching students to be readers and writers is a matter of language socialization, enculturation, identity production, power relations, and situated interaction” (Bloome et. al., 2005, p. xvii). Additionally, literature, digital literacy, and the practice of rhetoric requires “teaching how to manipulate symbol systems. It is also an intimate part of identity formation, both individual and social. How one engages in reading and writing, when, where, and with whom, as well as how one engages in learning to read and write, both reflect and construct one’s identity” (Bloome et al., 2005, p. xvii). With Bloome et. al.’s framework, instructors may become more cognizant about connections between symbol systems, language, and power structures. This may facilitate better prepared, socially aware and engaged class leaders. Providing students with materials, analyses, and the opportunity to independently as well as collaboratively explore challenging concepts gives practice in skills necessary to create responsible and thriving global citizens.

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RHETORIC AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSES AS COPING MECHANISMS Incorporating, analyzing, and encouraging students to explore rhetoric and sociolinguistics can assist instructors in creating effective lessons while students construct agency. This work develops answers to questions such as: How do we teach students to be global citizens, united, and supportive, and recognize that, although we are experiencing the world differently, many of our struggles are similar? How do we mitigate divisive media and help students adopt more loving and aware rhetoric during times of struggle and otherwise? When moments of crisis that impact students occur, how can educators facilitate coping? Educators can help students cope with the current crisis by providing ways for students to establish their agency. It is crucial that students have the chance to establish agency in a positive manner in the classroom. Ullman (2010) asserted, “in order to best serve students’ needs in the classroom, educators are obliged to counteract negative discourses with activities that affirm learners’ abilities and potential for learning” (p. 170). During crisis, coursework needs to prioritize students’ abilities to be successful. Instructors should play to students’ strengths when creating “crisis” curriculum. Part of this comes about by using current events and the world around the student as material within the class. Additionally, it is crucial to allow students to navigate and incorporate some of these social components to reinforce educational connections between classroom practices and global environments. Furthermore, encouraging students to continue their identity development, while being distanced from their peers and institution, creates consistency during crisis. Promoting this self-work is important for instructors, particularly language and literature teachers, because “the processes through which social identities are named and constituted are language processes; that is, it is through the use of language that people name, construct, contest, and negotiate social identities” (Bloome et al., 2005, p. 103). As students find themselves restricted to their homes and with limited or technologically facilitated interactions with their peers, identity formation and social belonging need to be fostered in digital learning environments. In addition to establishing a sense of control by fostering student agency and identity construction continuity, practitioners need to recognize the influence of their behind-the-scenes rhetoric. The way instructors talk about their students influences their perspective as well as implicitly colors their student-teacher interactions. In his work on the effects of a language learning program’s marketing and reputation, Ullman (2010) observed that “calling learners ‘lazy,’ another way to say ‘undisciplined,’ reflects a class-based discourse that powerfully impacts learners’ sense of themselves and what they can achieve in life” (p. 168). In this arena, thinking of students as lazy belittles the impact limited so30

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

cialization, restricted home spaces, and non-conventional educational environments might be having on students. It fosters a dismissive perspective on a global pandemic’s effect which educators may have a difficult time envisioning. Affirming student agency and stimulating continuous identity development is vital to establishing a sense of place within the world. Social environments and interactions are components of identity development and education. Therefore, during the COVID-19 crisis and transition, creating activities that emphasize connection and relationships among students and faculty, as well as considerations of how others are experiencing crisis, assist in establishing informed, accurate perspectives on current events. Ullman (2010) evaluated the importance of this writing that It is magical thinking to imagine that crossing the classroom threshold makes social stratification and anti-immigrant sentiment disappear. It is also crucial for teachers to understand that conversations about language learning and citizenship are prevalent in learners’ lives outside the classroom. (p. 169) As the classroom is a space for learning, the skills and lessons there need to reflect the skills needed outside of that learning space.

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PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF RHETORIC AND SOCIOLINGUISTICS Part of the researcher’s experience included working to replace typical assessments, such as exams and essays, while asking students to perform complicated collaborative activities giving learners a chance to explore how the COVID-19 crisis was impacting themselves, their communities, and the world around them. Teaching American literature offered the chance to incorporate writing and discussion activities. Acknowledging language as a component of identity building and the limitations of social interactions meant recreating the classroom, its expectations, and its use of current events as priorities. Doing so helps students construct a sense of self within this global crisis. This, in turn, encouraged students to embrace themselves and their anxieties and see how different communities were experiencing the COVID-19 crisis. Continuing interactions among students, holding discussions incorporating their circumstances, and building identity and agency through language use and skill building should be a priority in assisting young adults through this time of crisis. Lang (2013) explained, “when you offer some choice and control over how [students] will earn their grade, each student carves his or her own individualized path through the lesson material” (p. 30). Honoring student agency in conventional and non-traditional classrooms invites students to harness their energies and explore possibilities. Inventing creative ways to diversify online activities and interactions is a step to aid students in feeling in control of their learning experience and during crisis. While some international students had difficulty acquiring flights home, others found completing schoolwork at home challenging, and still others struggled with developing independent political views where guardians held contrasting opinions. Language-based assignments build students’ intellectual abilities while simultaneously giving them a chance to navigate the COVID-19 crisis and its after-effects deeply and collaboratively. Recognizing the changes in learning structures due to COVID-19 should be a priority of educators and administrators. Practitioners must be attentive and proactive in creating assignments that facilitate success, rather than challenges. Many students are in situations where they must learn more independently, read more, and become more skilled in using technology. To best respond to these circumstances, educa31

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

tors should consider “building in plenty of different options and pathways will help [students] succeed online. When they see compassion baked into the structure of the course, they will feel supported by you and, therefore, more connected to you” (Darby, 2020, para. 13). Students are experiencing education positively or negatively through the rhetoric teachers are using to construct it and in the manner which teachers engage the social environments in which they are immersed. The following strategies can usefully engage with and assist students in understanding the world through contemporary rhetorical and sociolinguistic constructions: • • • • •

Incorporate real life experiences, discuss (but do not exclusively focus on) the crisis, explore and understand how to use and interpret media wisely, reestablish what the classroom space looks like, encompasses, and expects, and foster ways for students to reconnect (even if they are difcult).

Incorporate Real Life Experiences Unarguably, COVID-19 changes have affected students of all levels. Toor (2020) discussed the experience of teaching college courses to students who started the semester online. Toor documented the issues those students raised as unique to newly found adulthood. Some of these issues ring true for secondary students: “Early on, I learned they were miserable. They were going nuts living at home after having tasted the freedoms of dorm life. They mourned marking birthdays without their friends” (Toor, 2020, para. 5). Toor articulates the stress some students find difficult to express, “They were afraid of getting sick and of getting those they loved sick” (Toor, 2020, para. 5). Toor’s highlights the need to recreate social interaction digitally and to recognize the stress students were experiencing. Similarly, Lang (2016) addressed the importance of reflecting on perspective and consideration by explaining that

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Whenever you are tempted to come down hard on a student for any reason whatsoever, take a couple of minutes to speculate on the possibility that something in the background of that student’s life has triggered emotions that are interfering with their motivation or their learning. (pp. 189-190) Lang also asserts if instructors take a moment of reflection before reacting to students negatively, this may assist in better mental health for students. A teacher’s empathy might result in the figurative sigh of relief a student needs in his/her life. In addition to Toor’s (2020) and Lang’s (2016) points, it is vital to help students understand they are experiencing unique struggles, but that they are not alone in facing these obstacles. In an effort to establish this during the transition to online learning, students in the author’s classes were given access to shared anonymous online journals. Each week would have a new prompt, and responses were optional. Students could write as much or little as they liked, and all responses were open to other students. This was a non-graded assignment. One of the more eye-opening prompts demonstrating that many students were struggling, but that their challenges were different resulted from the following question: “Many places are currently empty; what place do you wish you could have all to yourself?” Part of the student value is reflected in their responses, as the question did not prompt students to explain why, but nearly every student who answered continued her writing to explain her choice. Student responses

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

ranged from international students wishing for a plane to themselves to return home to dancers wanting studios instead of living rooms with furniture pushed aside to riders missing their coaches and horses. Students implicitly explored their real-life experiences, identity, and agency in a shared digital space voicing, legitimizing, and sharing struggles. Their ability to articulate their loss and change in a collaborative space encouraged students to see themselves as understanding and interpreting their own, as well as others’, obstacles. These challenges included lack of digital skills, difficulty finding productive learning spaces, and effects of the sudden change in social interactions. Furthermore, this collective sense of challenge and change brought notions of identity and world experience to the forefront. This work focused on manifesting how race, ethnicity, gender, and class identities are “Not ethereal; neither are they matters of whim that an individual can change” (Bloome et al., 2005, pp. 105-106). Identity markers “are built into how people act and react to each other; into social governmental policies;” social identities are also found in “the architecture of the buildings and open spaces we inhabit; into our social institutions of law, family, religion, business, health, education, science” (Bloome et al., 2005, pp. 105106). When COVID-19 resulted in social restrictions and quarantines, many were implicitly forced to reflect on the impact social structures have in theirs and others’ lives. Students explored how COVID-19 was impacting them based on social identity factors and saw how it affected others. During high school, class rank is also a significant social identity marker. While discussing impacts of COVID-19, many underclass students recognized the devastation an altered second half of the year had on senior students. Not only did social identity groups matter for understanding the impact of COVID-19 globally, but it also promoted a local glimpse of the pandemic’s effects.

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Discuss, but do not Exclusively Focus on Crisis Using class writing activities to recognize individual identities can usefully help students reposition their perspectives. Lang (2016) advocated for recognizing “that the brains in our classrooms do more than think: They feel, and those feelings can play a valuable role in our efforts to motivate and inspire student learning” (p. 193). Shifting student perspectives from processing and emphasizing the negatives and unknowns of COVID-19 to positive impacts they can offer others through their use of language can produce beneficial coping. Furthermore, as students and their families face economic, political, and educational crises, it is important that “we as teachers own our impact, embrace this work, and break away from the systems that diminish the diverse students we serve” (Manning, 2020, para. 7). In this observation, Manning addressed the political issues compounding circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic for many in the U.S. However, he made a well-taken point. For quite a few students, education and teachers are of the few constants in their lives. By engaging with crisis, exploring education that engages current events in writings, readings, and activities, students can have a better educational experience. To achieve this learning goal, the end of the year activity asked students to compose Thank You notes for someone at the school who had helped them this year. While the students were not evaluated on the quality of their writing, the goal was to emphasize the ways writing and emotions can impact someone experiencing crisis. The students had freedom to create their note digitally or by hand, to mail it physically for extra credit, to email it, or to embellish it with artwork. Their writings could be to someone who assisted them during the COVID crisis or not. The only restriction was that the letter could not be to the teacher (i.e., the author), since the teacher had assigned the work. Students produced notes that combined artistic elements with heartfelt prose releasing emotions in a positive way. The students wrote to a range of faculty and staff, varying from dorm-moms to dining hall employees to teachers to coaches. 33

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

One student in particular wrote to the headmistress, thanking her for accommodating her competitive riding schedule while making arrangements for her education to continue. The goal of appreciating writing as a coping mechanism was reflected in the recipients students chose as well as when students shared their work. Some students shared to whom they wrote and why. Additionally, discussion of the motives and impact positive messages can have highlighted the usefulness of such activity on mental health during crises and times of normalcy.

Explore and Understand how to use and Interpret Media Wisely Today, the majority of literacy and literature programs devote at least a portion of study to acquiring skills allowing for the differentiation of source types, reliability, and bias. In the author’s program, this component is covered during the research unit, which was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the remainder of the time studying American literature, it seemed pertinent to spend time reflecting on how various medias implicitly or explicitly express ideologies. Throughout the coursework, students focused on analyzing American identity, the American Dream, and social justice concerns. To reinforce these concepts and form connections regarding American literature as well as its themes, the final unit incorporated an anthology assignment. This activity was designed to recognize “that the prior knowledge that students bring into a course or class period has an obvious influence on their learning” (Lang, 2016, p. 99). Students were given the chance to reflect on how activities, topics, and information from class connected to, impacted, and related to media they encountered in daily life. For this project, students were required to develop two introduction pieces. One writing had to introduce a work analyzed during the schoolyear, while the second writing introduced a media piece of the student’s choice and explained how their chosen work connects to the piece the student introduced from class. Implicitly, this work encourages students to reflect on media and how they relate messages. Student choices ranged from songs to scholarly articles, poetry, and artwork. Teaching in an international community provided more diversity, as students reflected on their own perspectives as well as those of the artist in their analyses. Asking students to connect these works gave a way to make the thematic content of the course meaningful, a venue to expand on how media today uses similar themes or events that the class covered, as well as an opportunity to reflect on individual and collective identities developed through artistic and scholarly resources. Students expressed their identities and explored agency by expanding on ways that their contemporary life and events connected with course materials.

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Reestablish What the Classroom Space Looks Like, Encompasses, and Expects Since students were forced to navigate non-traditional classroom spaces and educational mediums, during the COVID-19 challenges, it was important to allow students to have a role in establishing the digital class aesthetic and expectations. Giving students this agency was twofold: It assisted in students gaining control in a semester where nearly no one had a sense of influence, and it also mitigated the instructor’s workload simultaneously, motivating students to invest in the last months of the schoolyear. As Figure 1 shows allowing students to have a participatory role in various aspects of the class assists both instructors and students to cope with the workload and stress produced by COVID-19. Additionally, students and instructors can work collaboratively to promote student agency as they participate actively in the design and content of the course, as Figure 1 shows. 34

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

Pelz (2010) recognized the value of these strategies. His first principle for constructing successful sociolinguistic spaces in online environments includes “let the students do (most of) the work” (p. 127). He does this by having students lead discussions: 1. Introducing questions as part of the learning process; 2. Assigning students online discussions requiring responses; 3. Defining discussion questions and assigning students the responsibility of asking and answering these in online workspaces. Sometimes, students find materials to incorporate into coursework and post summaries and links online. Students are given a space where they can ask for and provide assistance to one another. All of these activities have “students do most of the work. The role of the professor is limited to providing the necessary structure and directions, supportive and corrective feedback, and evaluation of final product” (Pelz, 2010, p. 131). Using these techniques, students have the ability to take control during times of uncertainty, connect with peers and faculty despite imposed isolations, and reflect on the ways that language and literature can establish productive learning and interpretative spaces.

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Figure 1. Workload balance opportunities

Two primary activities that utilized these strategies were a collaborative discussion guide for The Catcher in the Rye through Google Docs and a one-page play assignment that was a cumulative evaluation for the semester. Students created questions for the collaborative Google Doc that reflected concerns contemporary to the piece as well as to today’s world. For example, students considered the role and evolution of gender roles as they questioned if Holden perceived Mr. Antolini as gay and/or a pedophile because he is or because of his personality traits being perceived of as non-masculine. Additionally, students interacted with one another in legitimate ways. Rather than addressing comments to the teacher,

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

which happens often on learning management system discussion boards, students directed their comments to their peers. This created a legitimate-feeling educational community. So opposed to students performing work for the instructor because it is what is required, students developed an asynchronous discussion with one another- replicating the classroom construct online, without prompting from the instructor. Students used conversational assignments based in rhetorical and literary analyses to develop a continuation of classroom interactions and structure through their own communal agency. To reinforce this community and encourage students to continue the effort to reach out to one another, students in the classes also completed a one-page play assignment. For the final assignment, students were to compose one-page plays using characters from two different texts studied this year. Prewriting required establishing the setting and justifying the choice, developing characterization, and establishing motivation for the conversation, as well as whether the characters would directly discuss an aspect of the American Dream or symbolically converse about it. In addition, a playbill cover was required as an in-class component of this assignment. Students had the choice to work with a partner or individually. Here, students formed and articulated their own connections in creative formats. For example, one student’s work had Edna from the novella The Awakening meet in a California café with Beneatha from the play A Raisin in the Sun to discuss the U.S.’s progress and need to continue forward in establishing and achieving equality for all in a post-9/11 setting. Students utilized pathos throughout their work to show connections between characters and challenges they faced, as well as logos in developing creative works that established a thesis without boring the reader or explicitly announcing it. Some students participating in the author’s online classes working together wrote a single character’s dialogue per partner, while others divided the play, so one partner wrote the opening and the other wrote the conclusion. In these cases, students engaged in unique and high-level writing activities. The choices these students made colored their characters as well as ensured their writing was truly collaborative, so as to not seem jarring or conflicted. These projects encouraged students to connect with one another, reflect on the world and their place in it, as well as incorporate contemporary concerns with coursework by creating a world from their studies and lived experiences. The large amounts of student agency and discussion of identity construction assists students in taking advantage of having a sense of self as well as understanding how the self or others are created and identified in various settings.

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Foster Ways for Students to Reconnect (Even if They are Difficult) Much research on effective practices for online learning indicated that establishing an online learning environment was crucial (Darby, 2020; Kim & Freberg, 2018; Pelz, 2010; Toor, 2020). Kim and Freberg’s (2018) surveys indicated students invested more when instructors demonstrated commitment to the course content and students early in online courses. Creating environments with appropriate response times to inquiries, meaningful engagement with peers and instructors, and reasonable, flexible demands were reported as most beneficial (Kim & Freberg, 2018). This means instructors must be critical and attentive, especially in this transition, in constructing classes and coursework in environments unfamiliar to many educators and even more students. Critically reflecting on how educators create learning environments, specifically in sociolinguistic ways, is key to strong student performance. While virtual interactions are different from in-person exchanges, they are the best next option for meaningful engagement. Many educators recognize that “interactivity is the heart and soul of effective asynchronous learning” (Pelz, 2010, p. 131). Discussion boards and polls develop rapport with students. However, activities that encourage peer-to-peer interaction can help students grasp the situation they are 36

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 Global Students, Citizens, and Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis

experiencing while in quarantine. Pelz (2010) recognized the diverse types of activities in which students can engage during online environment construction explaining that “interaction is not just discussion. Students can be required to interact with one another, with the professor, with the text, with the Internet, with the entire class, in small groups or teams, one-on-one with a partner” (p. 131). During the spring transition to online learning, the author’s institution uniquely had international students who were minors. Some had returned home over spring break, others were waiting for the opportunity to travel, and more were in the midst of travelling and in state-sanctioned quarantines for two weeks upon arrival. The time zone, geographic location, and variety of stressors created an environment that necessitated creative curriculum design as well as attention to promoting student agency and identity. When states are imposing rules, students are in situations that feel out of control, and some students are unarguably alone. To encourage students to reflect on their current situations, the culminating activity for Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, required working together to create a newspaper. Each student was assigned a role. Photographers and story writers worked together. Two proofreaders and two editors worked collaboratively to edit and layout the class’s newspaper. Students were encouraged to reflect on their purpose in writing a story if they were reporting, since this is typically how newspapers develop their pieces. Some students created innovative portions of newspapers, such as horoscopes, interviews, and reader polls. Students were responsible for meeting deadlines and reporting issues in exchanging materials. Thus, reinforcing student agency and identity as they have responsibility and opportunity to tailor the assignment to their interests. This interactive activity directed students to engage with one another beyond the once-a-week class in an activity designed to address some COVID-19 stressors.

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CONCLUSION During these times, it is crucial and necessary to make students feel interested, heard, and engaged. Their lives need to be blended with the classroom, not because it is physically right now, but because it will create meaningful lessons. Establishing student agency, reinforcing identities, as well as exploring transferrable rhetorical and sociolinguistic analysis skills are valid ways to help students thrive through crisis. Significantly, practitioners must recognize that “students and their teachers—even though they might appear to have little economic or institutional power—are capable of, and engage in, both resistance and transformative behavior” (Bloome et al., 2005, p. 141). Much of this behavior occurs in and through interactions and assignments. Ensuring the curriculum is diverse, contains models worthy of recognition, and reflects contemporary student concerns are important pieces of creating a new “normal.” The most important work educators can do is to recognize student individuality, belonging, challenges, and victories. Some key work practitioners can accomplish is to realize that “students want to be seen, to know that we care about them, to be reminded that we understand they are struggling. Writing about themselves allowed that to happen and them to express themselves as the flawed, scared, and wonderful humans they are” (Toor, 2020, para. 24). Providing activities that blend class materials with strategies that can help students better understand current events is the change that programs need right now. Recognizing the value of rhetoric and sociolinguistics in forming and understanding the world and each person’s place in the global community should be valued curricular components in schooling. Reading, writing, and discussion activities mimic techniques used in daily life for constructing the self

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and other; it is our duty as educators to highlight this and actively engage students in this recognition and comprehension of its effects.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY Diverse aspects of rhetoric and sociolinguistics require examination within coursework to assist students in creating a “new” normal to fully comprehend the world. If coursework is not seeking to connect current events to material included within the classroom, then the class’s materials need to be reevaluated. As educators and students participate in online, hybrid, and socially distanced educational models, it is imperative that work continues to evaluate the pedagogies used as well as student and instructor experiences. Areas where learners and educators find empowerment should be noted and shared. Likewise, challenges and obstacles should continue to be recognized. Doing so may assist all participants in education become more productive, engaged, and thoughtful.

REFERENCES Alawdat, M. (2020). Multilingual writing in digital world: The necessity for reshaping teaching. In E. B. Hanci-Azizgolu & N. Kavakli (Eds.), Futuristic and linguistic perspectives on teaching writing to second language students (pp. 84–101). IGI Global. Bloome, D., Carter, S. P., Christian, B. M., Otto, S., & Shuart-Faris, N. (2005). Discourse analysis and the study of classroom language and literacy events: A microethnographic perspective. Routledge. Darby, F. (2020, June 26). 5 ways to connect with online students. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/5-Ways-to-Connect-With-Online/249077?cid=wcontentlist DeLuca, G. (2018). Vernacular voices and the preservation of the spirit. In Teaching toward freedom: Supporting voices and silence in the English classroom. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203702369 Guerrettaz, A. M., & Zahler, T. (2017). Black lives matter in TESOL: De-silencing race in a second language academic literacy course. TESOL Quarterly, 51(1), 193–207. doi:10.1002/tesq.331

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Kim, C. M., & Freberg, K. (2018). Online pedagogy: Navigating perceptions and practices to develop learning communities. Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, 8(2), 11–20. Klemenčič, M. (2015). What is student agency? An ontological exploration in the context of research on student engagement. In M. Klemenčič, S. Bergan, & R. Primožič (Eds.), Student engagement in Europe: Society, higher education, and student governance (pp. 11–29). Council of Europe Higher Education Series 20. Kosgey, S. J., & Mukaka, V. E. (2018). Coping mechanisms of foreign students in Baguoi City: An ethnographic approach. Journal of Research and Method in Education, 8(6), 23–33. Kroll, B. M. (2005). Arguing differently. Pedagogy, 5(1), 37–60. doi:10.1215/15314200-5-1-37

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Lang, J. M. (2013). Classroom practice - are teachers creating classroom cheats? The Times Educational Supplement Scotland, 2332, 30. Lang, J. M. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. Jossey-Bass. Lunceford, B. (2012). Media rhetoric. In M. Kosut (Ed.), Encyclopedia of gender in media (pp. 221–223). Sage. doi:10.4135/9781452218540.n95 Manning, N. (2020, June 26). Prioritizing empathy and anti-racism in schools. PBS Teachers’ Lounge. https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/prioritizing-empathy-and-anti-racism-inschools?fbclid=IwAR350 hYskG5QV2rdg-h4RhNFL5eL_9HvokpAwQ83Ucfe8-TnWnPcIGWt3RA Pelz, B. (2010). (My) Three principles of effective online pedagogy. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14(1), 127–140. Rogers, R., Malancharuvil-Berkes, E., Mosley, M., Hui, D., & Joseph, G. (2016). Critical Discourse Analysis in Education: A Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 365–416. doi:10.3102/00346543075003365 Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2017). Debating standard language ideology in the classroom: Using the “Speak Good English Movement” to raise awareness of global Englishes. RELC Journal, 48(3), 294–301. doi:10.1177/0033688216684281 Toor, R. (2020, June 23). Turns out you can build community in a Zoom classroom. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Turns-Out-You-Can Build/249038?cid=wcontentgrid Ullman, C. (2010). The ideological production of learner identities in the world outside/inside the classroom: Language learning, consumption, and national belonging. Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 4(3), 162–171. Wargo, J. M., & De Costa, P. I. (2017). Tracing academic literacies across contemporary literacy sponsorscapes: Mobilities, ideologies, identities, and technologies. London Review of Education, 15(1), 101–114. doi:10.18546/LRE.15.1.09

ADDITIONAL READING

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Boyle, J. (2015). Edutainment or Effective Technology Integration? How to Make Differentiation Drive Your Technology-Integrated Instruction. Reading Today, 29–30. Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman. Fink, L. D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for Significant Learning. Jossey -Bass. Gee, J. P. (2011). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. Routledge. Jani, J. S., & Mellinger, S. M. (2015). Beyond ‘Writing to Learn’: Factors Influencing Students’ Writing Outcomes. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(1), 136–152. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.977177

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Jarvin, L. (2015). Edutainment, Games, and the Future of Education in a Digital World. In E. L. Grigorenko (Ed.), The global context for new directions for child and adolescent development (pp. 33-40). New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 147. Jossey-Bass. McComiskey, B. (2000). Teaching Composition as a Social Process. Utah State University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt46nx11

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Collaborative Learning: Learning achieved through pedagogical strategies that prioritize student participation and creation in establishing learning environments, assignments, and discussion areas. Coping Mechanisms: Strategies used to mitigate stressful situations. In regards to this study, these activities assist in making workloads and out of the classroom circumstances more manageable. Critical Discourse Analysis: The study of the connection between power, language, and social constructs. Global Citizenship: The idea that, although we have a multitude of manners of defining ourselves, the overarching identity that should be prioritized is a global citizenship. All identities and geographies are connected. Online Environment: The alternative learning space created by educators and students using digital tools and virtual class sessions due to the shelter-in-place, quarantines, and stay-at-home orders. Online Pedagogy: Best practices for teaching online as well as how to foster best learning in online environments. Student Agency: The way students relate and interpret to their world, particularly how empowered students feel regarding their identity, control over situations, and ability to create the perception of themselves as well as the world around them.

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Chapter 3

The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis Parisa Yeganehpour https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2982-9085 Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Turkey

ABSTRACT All countries, regardless of their level of development and position in the world economy and relations, try to adopt similar survival behaviors in the management of educational institutions since the frst signs of the corona outbreak. Numerous people are contextually forced to learn from each other in this new adapted environment while not everyone is pessimistic about the pandemic situation and its unexpected obligations. Many people believe that the pandemic crisis is an opportunity to warm up the foundation of family relationships and the integration of high standard virtual education at global and inclusive levels. The unexpected change in social and educational intuitions reminds humanity of the vital and bright side of technology in this critical period. This chapter examines and models how virtual education can save money and resources to provide well-designed and purposeful learning opportunities for students to learn without fear when proper plans are implemented to overcome the impact of crises through the power of technological social learning.

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INTRODUCTION The recent pandemic crisis has severely affected the education system in all countries around the world, and the education system is completely changing. The unpredictable nature of the viruses shapes the way people perceive the crisis of the Coronavirus. Some people see the Coronavirus as World War III for humanity, some others see it as an opportunity for the environment to breathe, while others see the physical vulnerability to the Coronavirus as a severe setback in health and armed forces (Jeronimus, 2020) including how the discipline of education is practiced. All countries, regardless of their level of intellectual development and position in the world economy and socio-political relations, experienced challenges in DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch003

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

the management of educational institutions since the first signs of the corona outbreak. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, almost all countries have closed their schools and higher education institutions (Auger, et al., 2020; Bayham & Fenichel, 2020; Cohen & Kupherschmidt, 2020; Rundle et al., 2020) The challenges of the school closings and the continuation of uncertainty for the future paint a vague outlook for the education system in the whole world. All schools are inevitably trying to get equipped with the latest means of technological knowledge transfer, and the educational sciences are undergoing a major transformation (Meiers, Teacher Professional Learning, Teaching Practice and Student Learning Outcomes: Important Issues, 2007). Since today’s virtual education is currently followed by error and trial, it is evidenced that the efficient use of information and communication technology should have been institutionalized in schools before the Corona crisis as a priority (Weiss & Weiss, 2020; European Commission, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020). Once people are forced to change their life-styles during this period, the evidence and urgent need for distance education reminded people how vital the bright side of technology is in this critical period (Malashenko, 2020; Ali, 2020), and people now understand that they have to read and learn more to survive. Perhaps the post-Corona man will owe more to technology than anything else because of the change it brings along for humanity. Quite a lot of people believe that this pandemic crisis is an opportunity to warm up the foundation and relationships of family members, and the integration of education at the global level could also be transformed into better functional and efficient institutions. Yet, not everyone is pessimistic about this situation. It seems that Corona will dramatically increase the number of scientific studies on the planet in order to enhance the quality standards for life, wellbeing, and education to avoid similar crises. In parallel with this idea, this chapter is going to explore the effect and power of technological social e-learning as a useful method. For this purpose, the author will examine the concept of e-learning by demonstrating the role of e-learning through virtual education. Thus, increasing the significance of cooperation in educational issues provide safe and sound environments for students in times of crisis, and it is vital to explore the impact of coronavirus on education.

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THE IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON EDUCATION The Corona period, besides stress, will be a period of growth and excellence, and this is the result that man has experienced throughout history and after the passages of crises (Campbell D, 2020). The human race experienced a theory of survival cycles over centuries that those who have the right to life are the ones who were able to adjust to their shifting circumstances, and that the adaptation process is indeed a matter of life and survival. In simpler terms, a crisis period is the era of change, civilization, and development of humanity. One of the issues people should consider in times of coronavirus crisis is that the weaknesses and inefficiencies of both the individual and society will emerge in times of crises, but if there is a lack of proper management in this regard, the fire of this crisis will spread (Haleem & Javaid, 2020). Accordingly, individuals need to reconsider their current lifestyles, habits, and beliefs by recognizing individual inefficiencies, moral weaknesses, problems with self-control, and lack of social skills and infrastructure through the use of existing capabilities during the Corona epidemic. The coronary age is a period, whether people like it or not, forces societies to change according to a new wave because people’s mental and physical health are subject to risky conditions. According to Chen et al. (2020); the fear, anxiety, and panic that the coronavirus has instilled in the hearts and souls of the people have been immense, and this horror and anxiety has its effects in the post-acronym period 42

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 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

in the form of social harms and mental disorders in societies. The only good news is that this infectious disease data is expected to change technology, medicine, and biology at any point in time. This alteration will reverse the negative effect of the coronavirus to improve human life and civilization according to recent studies (Chen et al., 2020; Reimers et al., 2020; Youde, 2020). From another positive perspective, people have to learn new and enjoyable activities and skills to succeed in this unexpectedly limited condition during the corona epidemic. The same process can indeed improve personal and social health. For example, time management to use cyberspace to enter educational environments and learning new skills to earn money and optimize the family and community economy can foster creativity in idea formation in times of crises (Reimers et al., 2020) despite what numbers tell people statistically. The Coronavirus reminded people of the weaknesses and backwardness of the social, political, economic, and educational structures of countries. With all interpretations, the experts have been addressing and emphasizing these failings and limitations for years, but not all of these voices have always been heard in the face of multifaceted political, economic, and cultural differences to pave the way for reforms. Today, the ring of truth of the experts’ cries and warnings can be clearly seen in the ruptures caused by the virus as societies deal with the deadly Coronavirus (Youde, 2020). Educational settings have been one the most vulnerable organizations that are affected by the coronavirus outbreak worldwide. When educational systems have not been able to stand on their own under both the load and the debris of the virus, the wind of unexpected change shakes its integral qualities and results in more damage. Even though most governments declared the necessity for cyberspace and guided the students for technological alternatives, a significant number of families remained far from education. At first sight, it may not seem like significant damage within the first initial months, but in fact, the extent of the damage may remain to effect the educational systems and students for years. Why are the educational systems quite fragile and vulnerable, and why do educational systems still cling to traditional practices despite years of practice in the context of cyberspace education? Why most educational systems fall short while any legislation attempting to adapt to the modern world gets lost in the process are significant questions that need to be thought and answered (Dejongh, 2020). Unfortunately, part of the problem occurs when most educators and even educational administrators see the damage of the coronavirus lasting only in a semester or a year, while the educational process from elementary school to higher education is a chain. Breaking a piece of this chain affects the whole educational process systematically. In other words, the earthquake that struck the whole chain with the breaking of a semester loop may, for some students (such as elementary students), continue until university and change their destiny. In fact, the coronavirus has exposed previous mistakes and distortions of the education systems that require a change in applied procedures along with a fundamental overhaul in educational systems. Reforms do not necessarily require discoveries or designs of brand new educational methods. With cautious and effective planning, countries can adopt new technological models that are structurally proved to be achieved by scientists in previous centuries. Therefore, the educational systems need a fundamental revolution both in method and purpose, and this revolution should not be accompanied by the eradication of educational experiences and the failing roots of the past. Rather, this revolution should be marked by gradual and substantial reforms. Certainly, new threats will arise in the educational systems again in the future, which will cause different types of damages at varying severity. Consequently, the educational systems must be indeed reconsidered and reconstructed after the corona crisis because it is futile to think that another crisis after the corona will not threaten our education system.

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 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

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THE INTELLIGENT EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE CRISIS PERIOD The coronavirus crisis creates dangerous and unstable surroundings with a great deal of pressure on humanity. It causes disruption in all normal activities. It is then crucial that the crisis-affected systems and societies should adopt functional strategies and approaches (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020). Coronavirus has been not only a threat but also an opportunity at the micro and macro levels: At the micro-level, all organizations and institutions are given the opportunity to face this crisis by testing how to deal with this crisis with their own assets. At the macro level, there is also the opportunity to breathe for the environment, and the opportunity to test the power of human and science interaction. With this chance, people find the opportunity to reconsider the meaning of science, and they can internalize how science brings expertise, power, and wealth. Moreover, Basilaia and Kvavadze (2020) believe that the duties of sociologists, directors, medical engineers, education specialists, theologians, historians, and geographers about this crisis should be reevaluated in this critical situation besides reconsidering the context of scientific disciplines in societies. It should also be noted that education is dynamic and interactive in the most critical situations to offer solutions for serious problems throughout the disciplines. Therefore, education and training are the basis for forming all scientific fields in the world regardless of the nature of the problem (Basilia & Kvavadze, 2020). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2019), each crisis has different characteristics, and we have to choose different ways to deal with it (DCD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019). For instance, a crisis sometimes reduces the social distance, yet sometimes it increases the social distance instead. In this case, the coronavirus spread increases the social distance and a solution or a tool must be found to reduce this obvious distance. This necessity clearly means corona is a crisis that may be eliminated by increasing distances; however, the progressive nature of the virus is hard to be blocked through an effective system. Inevitably, one of these effective systems is education. Education bridges this systematic gap by redefining its own role along with the daily functional routine tasks, and this reduction in distance is possible through intelligent education and e-learning. Almost in all countries, education and higher education centers, make quick decisions and plans for intelligent education plans regarding this crisis (DCD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019). Atzori (2017) particularly stated that the new technology that countries are moving towards an effective intelligent education plan is Blockchain. Blockchain is an electronic database that stores a significantly large amount of information that is accessible to any number of people. It affects all economic, political, social, financial, and even educational spheres and plays a crucial role in education. Blockchain makes secure activities available to people through a secure network. Creating transparency, peer-to-peer exchanges and smart contracts are the three features of Blockchain, which are used in education (Atzori 2017). In addition, Bitcoin and Pi as digital currencies are financial subcategories of Blockchain. The use of Blockchain in e-learning can solve countless problems. With the effective use of Blockchain, video conference lessons and internet-based training have become an inseparable part of science and education. Since virtual education requires skills in compiling and preparing electronic content, coronavirus treatment quarantines revitalize digital books and library clutter. Perhaps more importantly, teaching staff and teachers using databases and software programs should be able to provide the required content and provide the technology of virtual teaching methods (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020). Blockchain rewards learners and teachers can motivate learners to complete their online courses more successfully via distance education (Garbade 2018). Basilaia and Kvavadze (2020) showed that the Blockchain allows students to be trained with prestigious degrees along with smart contracts. Without the limitation 44

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 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

of traditional education, a peer to peer basis approach can be applied anywhere in the world under the supervision of any institution without forgery. Blockchain achieves two goals: internationalization of educational systems and decentralization of education for the country’s education system. If a country’s education system is implemented in the context of a Blockchain, it will make communication easy in the world of education by providing enriching information exchange between students and professors (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020). Doubts about this view have been raised by Atzori (2017) and Garbade (2018), and they discuss that technology is as useful as it is dangerous, if we are not familiar with its threats. It should be emphasized that we need to teach our students the dangers and threats of Blockchain and e-learning: In e-learning, many people believe that the container is not important but the content is the most critical one. It is the framework through which teachers become so fascinated by technology that they may lose their focus on teaching. Atzori (2017) and Garbade (2018) claim that software programs are imperative for teaching, but productivity in using software programs is rather a serious consideration that needs careful planning and implementation. In fact, the productivity of smart education should match with the objectives and outcomes of education and should be designed according to intelligent protocols that connect to the cultural and infrastructural conditions of teachers and learners (Atzori, 2017) for the evolution of e-learning in times of the Coronavirus crisis.

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THE EVOLUTION OF E-LEARNING IN TIMES OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS The special circumstances of the coronavirus outbreak and the closure of schools provided awareness of the purposeful use of technology and e-learning. It is believed that e-learning will find a more settled place in the future. The current crisis can be a good benchmark for action, balanced participation, and trans-institutional accountability. The supportive actions taken by capable institutions and departments for education to implement the innovative programs should be commended. In the sea of concrete educational problems, the Ministries of Communication and Information Technology, universities, and government agents are responsible to form a purposeful and defined communication system regarding student access and teacher-student communication within school systems. Even though it is not possible to achieve all the ideals during an unexpected crisis in this short period of time, all classes are expected to be held in an integrated and unified system within an effectively operating virtual international network. Any valuable effort on behalf of the responsible officials are valuable and can function as the cornerstone of a participatory system to achieve the formation of the international network of learning and teaching in the world (Malashenko 2020). The recent analysis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that the policies of educational research and planning depend on information and communication technology to improve the quality of educational services and contents based on the resources (OECD, 2020). To illustrate, the targeted use of information and communication opportunities is based on the mission of annual programs. The creation and development of a national school network, the production of electronic content, the electronic version of textbooks and magazines for an interactive learning package, and the production of learning components are among the most valuable tasks of e-learning (Burns, 2020). As a functional example, Burgess (2020) showed new platforms that are using internal capacities taking the final step in reorganizing themselves to provide an education-learning network. The courses of the students are classified based on the diverse contents with suitable formats. Similarly, 45

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 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

the e-learning services have continuous and constructive platforms that prepare textbooks, educational videos, and educational software in complementary e-learning programs (Burgess 2020). In parallel with this idea, it is quite questionable by researchers that schools have been closed for a long time due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and distance learning or online education is offered to students through television and other interactive devices (Ali, 2020). Ali’s (2020) comprehensive review concluded that in the age of communication, most developed countries have used various methods of e-learning in addition to face-to-face training. Internet education, while saving time and money, provides superior and special facilities and benefits for students and teachers. Therefore, countries that have provided the appropriate infrastructure suffer from the least damage during emergencies and the disconnection of social ties (Ali, 2020). The question arises here is: How effective is this new teaching method? Finding the answer for this critical question with the aim of not dropping out of school and not prolonging the school year despite the possible disadvantages of this event indeed offers a positive experience to explore the main elements of distance education so that we can use this technique for villages and remote deprived areas on normal days (Ali, 2020). The conceptual aim of this approach is to take advantage of the current threat in a transformative way for the development of e-learning. With this model, the schools will not be practically closed, teachers will continue to be present at the school to provide the necessary training through cyberspace. What’s even more crucial, the closure of schools will not impact the quality of educational practices (UNESCO 2020). This formulation seems to open up a whole world of positive possibilities for reconsidering the delivery and outcomes of educational systems. Chen et al. (2020) explain that the first important element in learning and teaching is the student’s motivation. Two questions may be raised at this point: Are children interested in working with technology or are they interested in e-learning? In response, Chen at al. 2020 say that our students and children are highly interested in working with technology. In e-learning, the teachers’ way of working changes from traditional to new, and it does not eliminate the role of the teacher. They have argued that just as the SARS outbreak led to e-commerce, the outbreak of Coronavirus may also lead to transformational changes in education and the promotion of e-learning. It seems that the integration of information technology with education has accelerated and become an integral part of education in schools. From a scientific perspective, a well-designed and purposeful structural method must be defined and adjusted for appealing and interactive approaches to motivate students (Chen et al., 2020). A group of researchers also studied several types of teaching methods in e-learning, such as projectbased, problem-based, and game-based to test the effectiveness of online education (Kassymova et al., 2020). They claim that teachers or professors have already worked virtually with students for a semester, therefore they believe the performance and the exam should be evaluated in person since this may disrupt the mental well-being of the students. Teachers hold meetings virtually and express their problems worldwide. The cost of cyberspace, parents’ fear and lack of familiarity with cyberspace are among problems that should seriously be considered by government officials. What’s more, the children must be educated about the benefits of cyberspace without denying the harms of this space. The growth in the intelligence of educational spaces and electronic intelligence development must be of a prior concern to the government (Kassymova et al., 2020). Conversely, education should include the continuation of the effective learning process on the basis of cyberspace in the national learning network of the countries by regulating and formulating mechanisms and frameworks of cooperation in terms of content, technique, economy, society, and management despite the fact that numerous scientific studies are needed to test the best effective methods of online education. 46

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The preliminary work was undertaken by Jandrić et al. (2020) found that online education is about to change the nature of the overall classroom. To illustrate, since face-to-face training almost always comes with the cost of transportation to the training center, it also brings air pollution to the metropolitan areas. With the advent of e-learning, people are able to reduce their training costs, and lack of transportation brings along time-saving. With the help of e-learning, the realization of educational justice and creating learning opportunities for people at any time, in any place with any budget is provided (Jandrić et al., 2020). Khvilon and Patru (2002) in their study proved that some people emphasize the benefits of using e-learning to reduce time and costs for government and households and recommend the absolute use of e-learning. In contrast, the proponents of traditional and face-to-face education consider the new model to be inefficient and incomplete and do not trust e-learning methods. They believe that although communication technology and electronic devices reduce distances and give users more authority in time management training, e-learning cannot absolutely be used for some age groups in terms of practical and workshop training. They add that elementary education certainly requires two-way communication between teacher and student and the creation of a sensory and emotional connection in the educational process. Accordingly, some lower-grade students do not have the training to work with electronic devices and applications. On the other hand, these insufficient infrastructural issues can be solved, and e-learning can be used everywhere as for both the main or the complementary teaching method as well as for teaching at higher levels or for adult groups who turn to these methods due to their busy schedule and lack of time (Khvilon & Patru, 2002). Meiers (2007) also demonstrated that systems can be updated to digitalize mechanisms in education with effective arrangements by experts, educators and parents, which is a promising change and pursuit of the Ministries of Education. Certainly, the experience of e-learning in schools and universities will be an effective step for governments to better identify and evaluate the opportunities ahead in the development of e-government and the use of e-technology in the fields of economics, politics, and social affairs in the near future. If a strong and compassionate will is formed in the expansion of e-governments, the managers and stakeholders can overcome expediencies and rent-seeking relationships, and the majority of the infrastructural problems and difficulties can be solved with the help of systematization of structures and the possibility of public oversight and transparency. Further, there will be increased efficiency and reduced costs for households and the government (Meiers, 2007). Thus, in most countries, the school education system professionals are initially surprised and confused due to the lack of experience in e-learning, but teachers and students have adjusted to their new normal through virtual schools after a few months. Therefore, due to the lack of proper facilities and infrastructure, low internet speed, insufficient experience of teachers and parents in the method of virtual education, lack of appropriate evaluation and management software, undesirable and degraded quality education continue to lower the effectiveness of the education systems. Despite all these problems, it is hoped that the educational system of countries has been guided from traditional and face-to-face conditions to the use of new electronic and virtual facilities, and the continuation of this trend in the future will bring about fundamental changes in other areas (Angdhiri, 2020).

SMART SCHOOLS Scientific developments in recent years, especially in the field of information technology, as well as the need to pay attention to virtual and distance education during Coronavirus disease and its prevalence, 47

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

have increased the need to reconsider education. This vital need can be described as the requirements of scientific developments and information of the new millennium. In the smart school, educational philosophy emphasizes that everyone will be equipped with the more creative ability for learning more effectively with a curriculum that is designed to meet all the different needs and abilities of students. Within the context of smart schools, Temurnikar (2020) claimed that since Coronavirus is able to change many political, economic, cultural, social, and cultural traditions, education is certainly being affected by these changes. The prerequisite to pay attention to virtual and distance education has been discussed for years, but this method of education has been seriously in everyday educational environments for months due to the prevalence of Coronavirus disease. One of the most significant ways to deal with distance learning is to have smart schools, schools that aim for:

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• • • •

Comprehensive development of students (mental, physical, emotional, and psychological) Upgrading individual abilities and capabilities Training of manpower for rethinking familiarity with technology Increasing promotion and public participation

Moving to smart schools will reduce many of the current problems of education, including the provision of manpower, the provision of educational spaces, the provision of large budgets for education and upbringing. In addition, countries will be closer to their scientific goals by reforming efficient and smart programs. The goal of smart schools is to train civilized citizens familiar with scientific and media literacy, who can live and function in an intelligent society to have a comfortable life in the age of information and communication (Temurnikar, 2020). Another principle of learning through smart schools in this information age is the use of teaching techniques and methods that strengthen students’ motivation and learning conditions for easy and automatic transfer of higher intellectual skills. In smart schools, curricula and academic assessments are to be modified and equipped with the latest technology in the world for better educational outcomes. In smart schools, learning is an organizational act, where all variables are electronically controlled, including content delivery, homework, attendance, heating and refrigeration systems. In fact, the classroom is a transparent setting, where the principal, the parents, and students can monitor the classroom activities. In this way, the school is an environment not only for students but also for teachers, principals, and even parents of students (Temurnikar, 2020). According to research done by Phoong et al. 2020, which played a key role in the design and development of smart schools, learning in smart schools is not traditional via rote reading, but it is exploratory, meaningful, and cognitive. Rather, the view of the meaningfulness on curriculum is based on the responsibility of the individual in society. The task of advanced and intelligent schools is to teach life skills to the students and to create opportunities for them to practice real-life experiences in the classroom and school. In advanced and smart schools, issues such as dropout, and aversion to school are less common among students. The use of appropriate software for school, the use of smart boards, the use of computers, laptops, tablets, the use of smart kits and microscopes, are examples of tools and technologies used in smart schools. In addition to the necessary facilities and equipment, it is necessary for teachers to receive the essential training in this field to have a positive attitude towards virtual education and to understand the necessity for smart schools (Phoon et al., 2020) Smart schools will allow students to access unlimited information. In the 21st century, it is ideal that students will be in the classroom with qualified computers instead of bags full of bulky textbooks. Examinations will be conducted electronically, and students who are unable to attend classes due to 48

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

illness will be able to attend classes at home via computers. The greatest impact of smart schools on the intellectual and practical development of students is to offer them the ability to produce knowledge by creating reproductive knowledge instead of passive information consumption. In this approach, the role of the teacher is as a guide and facilitator rather than being a transmitter of knowledge. The role of the student is active, creative, critical, and participatory instead of a passive consumer of knowledge. Therefore, education can change the infrastructure, content, and even curriculum cultures via virtual and distance learning in smart schools to meet the diverse educational needs during crisis times. Smart schools are one of the principal achievements in the development of information technology in education programs. The benefits and effects of smart schools not only have an impact on the educational environment, but it provides students with real-life experiences to prepare them for the future (Wolthuis, et al. 2020). Consequently, moving towards the enlightenment of society through smart schools can make countries more successful in aiming for excellence in the near future.

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THE CHALLENGES OF THE E-LEARNING SYSTEMS The Center for International Affairs and Schools has reviewed and published the lived educational experiences of several countries in crises. The variable of the selection criteria is that each of these countries takes different actions, whereas some of these countries have better opportunities when access to technology is counted as determining criteria (SAM, 2020). Nowhere in the world is expected to violate or destroy sovereignty in crises, but citizens often expect institutional bonds to be rather strengthened at crisis times (SAM, 2020). Quite the contrary, there was no discussion about creating a virtual educational space, and gradually, the discussion between the student and the teacher was bizarrely conducted through the messenger systems in particular countries (Altun & Telli Yamamoto, 2020). From this perspective, the crucial point for a functioning centralized system of education in the triangle of student, school and teacher are operational data and databases along with applicable policies when forming educational networks. According to Altun and Telli Yamamoto (2020), it seems that the experiences of other countries therefore cannot be exactly implemented or copied. Perhaps the biggest challenge is the imbalance between the actions of the institutions at the macro level and the large size of schools with the limited resources and facilities to cover all schools in the educational system. Various prescriptions that offer remedies on the curriculum and educational pedagogies are often the reflection that gives a clear picture with educational policies and decisions of that country. Altun and Telli Yamamoto (2020) identify communities in terms of educational units regarding the fact that a large community could involve thousands of educational units and thousands of classrooms. Thus, a comprehensive centralized learning system cannot be used to serve everyone within the context of all countries because the capabilities and distributing services countries produce as a learning management platform varies from one country to the next in the way the roles and tasks in cyberspace class are defined. Girgin (2020) calls our attention through social responsibility; we all need to take action for the health of students through cyberspace. In this regard, the plan named “Classroom at home and formal learning with the movement of teachers in cyberspace” was proposed to the learners in the first days of facing the spread of coronavirus (Girgin, 2020). From the educational point of view, the constructive interaction between the student and the teacher is maintained by overcoming psychological issues. An atmosphere of hope and cheerfulness is aimed to be created at home to face these situations positively (Şeker et al., 2020). Girgin (2020) also, claims that the relationship between parents in this process is strengthened 49

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

through the time available to the students via enriched and purposeful management. Hard-working and creative teachers paved the way for better e-learning participation (Girgin 2020). The teachers find the opportunity to use interactive communication styles within the context of the information network. In fact, enriching school portals through the support of teachers is forming a valuable asset as a national storage space in this direction. Şeker et al. (2020) propose that the purpose of the education systems is not limited to paying attention to educating students. Rather, focusing on the educational and psychological issues of students along with their family environment is a greater opportunity. In this regard, proposals for enriching participation from all capable and competent sectors to create partnerships between educational institutions and private sectors are on the agenda of governments to achieve educational justice. From this critical perspective, there is not a system without weaknesses and limitations (Farhadi, 2020). With the coronavirus crisis, a golden opportunity has been provided for educational and transformational policies and rotations that would not have been possible under normal circumstances. Learning centers are now everywhere, virtual learning platforms are extended from school to family and to other cultural and educational places (Alsalem, 2004; Arkorful & Abaidoo, 2014). It can be stated that the expression of strengths and weaknesses depends on several underlying factors regarding the virtual learning system. An indicator of strength varies from one situation to the next. The opportunity to retrieve and enrich the content is improved once the teacher-student interaction is established through the strength of e-learning. E-learning also removes time and place constraints and strengthens family bonds. What seems obvious is that the student now plays the role of the main actor as a student researcher as an additional advantage (Alsalem, 2004; Arkorful and Abaidoo, 2014). There are also weaknesses that block the fast and operational growth of e-learning as a reflection of educational justice as follows: • • • • • • •

Lack of defnition of continuous cooperation mechanisms Lack of proper access to dynamic infrastructure Access restrictions in certain remote areas Lack of responsive bandwidth for educational use Lack of fnances and resources Lack of comprehensive content appropriate to the curriculum Lack of learning materials for individualized learning of students with special needs

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CONCLUSION It will take time for all schools and classes to be held within an integrated system; however, any attempt can function as a cornerstone of a participatory system for the formation of a national network of learning and teaching throughout the countries (Khvilon & Patru, 2002). The actions of controlling institutions for educational programs’ credibility should be based on regulating and formulating mechanisms and frameworks. In return, technical, economical, social, managerial and continuous learning processes in cyberspace of the national learning network can be constructed in a country (Mnkeni-Saurombe, 2014). From this perspective, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, universities, and schools form a purposeful communication system based on the school’s classification system and student access along with teacher-student communication. It is not possible to achieve all the objectives at once, and one should not expect that to happen in a short period of time, but teachers have the power to make a remarkable difference. 50

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The main winners of this educational bustle in crisis times are teachers. Indeed, the world may thank all the teachers in all countries, who silently and unassumingly, are trying their best to make the learning environment dynamic in these circumstances of despair. In this great transformational movement, many teachers around the world worked beyond their power in accordance with sincerity and responsibility. Without question, some teachers started an educational movement because of their sense of responsibility in the training process, and they spontaneously flourished the learning environment with creativity. This chapter theoretically discussed how integrated national actions can facilitate coordinated and effective e-learning once opportunities are provided with functional curriculums. The governance of the curriculum and the principles and values of innovative curriculum practices in the education system should not be ignored. With the entry of interactive learning and teaching in cyberspace, the schools should be equipped and organized via applicable principles and values in the education system. By mobilizing all the capabilities of the government, public institutions, charities, and families, a movement of educational unity could provide a set of required resources and facilities that can offer special learning packages for all. Especially the low income, and socially disadvantaged areas should be offered expanded and comprehensive courses without any exclusion. In this regard, the systematic weaknesses and limitations should not be subdued in times of crisis. Rather, a national learning network should provide all possible facilities and opportunities for the benefit of all students, teachers, and families. The biggest strategic mistake a country can make is to allow the education system to fail, which is a valid statement for all countries. Thus, the issue of educating students and paying attention to education should be put the main priority of the governments in times of crisis.

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Arkorful, V., & Abaidoo, N. (2014). The role of e-learning, the advantages and disadvantages of its adoption in Higher Education. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(12), 397–410. Atzori, M. (2017). Blackchain technology and decentralized governance: Is the state still necessary? Journal of Governance and Regulation, 6(1), 45–62. doi:10.22495/jgr_v6_i1_p5 Auger, K. A., Shah, S. S., Richardson, T., Hartley, D., Hall, M., Warniment, A., Timmons, K., Bosse, D., Ferris, S. A., Brady, P. W., Schondelmeyer, A. C., & Thomson, J. E. (2020). Association between statewide school closure and COVID-19 incidence and mortality in the US. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(9), 859–870. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.14348 PMID:32745200

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Wolthuis, F., van Veen, K., Vries, S., & Hubers, M. D. (2020). Between lethal and local adaptation: Lesson study as an organizational routine. International Journal of Educational Research, 100, 101–534. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101534 World Health Organization. (2020). COVID-19 strategy update. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. Youde, J. (2020). Where the US went. Retrieved from The interpreter: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/ the-interpreter/debate/coronavirus-pandemic

ADDITIONAL READING Albirini, A. (2007). The Crisis of Educational Technology, and the Prospect of Reinventing Education. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 10(1), 227–236. Arriazu, R., & Maccabelli, M. (2020). The role of education in times of crisis: A critical analysis of the Europe 2020 strategy. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 12(2), 129–149. Assaf, D. A. (2018). Motivating Language Learners during Times of Crisis through Project-based Learning: Filming Activities at the Arab International University (AIU). Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(12), 1649–1657. doi:10.17507/tpls.0812.10 Chiluwa, I., & Ajiboye, E. (2016). Language Use in Crisis Situations: A discourse analysis of online reactions to digital news reports of the Washington Navy Yard shooting and the Nairobi Westgate attack. In R. Taiwo & T. Opeibi (Eds.), The Discourse of Digital Civic Engagement: perspectives from the developing world. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Deaton, S. (2015). Social Learning Theory in the Age of Social Media: Implications for Educational Practitioners. Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 1–6. Eaton, S. E. (2010). Global Trends in Language Learning in the 21st Century. Facer, K. (2011). Learning Futures: Education, Technology, and Social Change. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203817308

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Müller, L.-M., & Goldenberg, G. (2020). Education in times of crisis: The potential. Chartered College of Teaching.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Corona Virus Crisis: This epidemic virus that caused many political, economic and social crises that will last for years and the impact of it last forever in the economic, political, and social platforms of the world. COVID-19: The first Covid-19 initiative appeared in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus a “global epidemic.” The virus has killed thousands of people in 157 countries and infected millions of others.

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 The Power of Technological Social Learning in Times of Crisis

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Crisis Period: No one knows when, where and how a crisis will occur. COVID-19 disease is a primary example of a crisis that no one even thought would significantly affect global education, politics, the economy, and every business. E-Learning: The most comprehensive and at the same time the shortest definition that can be given to any kind of learning or training that is done with the help of various electronic media. In fact, e-learning is the use of technological advances to activate and empower people to learn independently, regardless of time and place limitations. Pandemic Period: The phase of the worldwide spread of a new disease. Technology: Technology is a body of knowledge used to create tools, process things, and extract materials. Technology may be described in the form of products, processes, or organizations. People use technology to expand their capabilities, and that makes people the most civilized members of the technological systems.

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Chapter 4

Quaran-Teens 2020 Blog Series:

Collaborative Digital Auto-Ethnography During the COVID-19 Pandemic Maha Alawdat https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8626-0609 Kaye College of Education, Israel Rebecca Hodges Lausanne Collegiate School, USA

ABSTRACT

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The aim of this chapter is to examine Quaran-Teens 2020, a collaborative, digital, high school anthropology blog project during COVID-19 to demonstrate the efectiveness of auto-ethnography as a social science method, rhetorical writing style, and digital media pedagogy. The data are collected from a digital collaboration of two international baccalaureate classes at a private, international school in Memphis, Tennessee from March to June 2020. The content of the blog posts is analyzed in terms of critical selfinquiry, the social construction of society, storytelling, and ethical considerations. The fndings show the efectiveness of auto-ethnography as a timely method of sociolinguistics data collection and persuasive rhetorical narrative approach, especially in times of digital media and cultural crisis, because it situates the individual both as a culturally produced and culture-producing person. The collaborative, digital nature of the project suggests ways to overcome the traditional limitations of ethnography and may be an efective strategy beyond the specifc context.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch004

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Quaran-Teens 2020 Blog Series

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INTRODUCTION On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic (WHO DirectorGeneral’s opening remarks, 2020). As the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the globe, most educational institutions have turned to virtual schooling and were forced to close their doors and follow the global “stay at home” policy (Barnes et al., 2020). Though most teachers had some experience with technology-integrated instruction, the context required a new reliance on digital media in times of crises. With school closure and exam cancellation widespread, institutions sought alternative teaching techniques that would function during the quarantine lockdown. These decisions significantly changed teaching practices around virtual educational technology. Designed and implemented in virtual classes, this chapter highlights one collaborative digital auto-ethnography project called Quaran-Teens 2020 undertaken by high school seniors in Memphis, Tennessee and published by Anthrodendum.org. The aim of this chapter is to examine the blogs posted by Quaran-Teens 2020 to demonstrate the effectiveness of auto-ethnography as a rhetorical writing style, digital media project, and social science methodology. Using auto-ethnography in the virtual classroom is an effective pedagogical strategy because it situates the individual as both a culturally produced person and culture-producing person. Auto-ethnography, defined as the study of one’s own experience of culture, is a genre of research and writing that connects the personal to the cultural, placing the self within a social context (Reed-Danahay 1997; Holt, 2003; Dunn & Myers, 2020; Olmos-López & Tusting, 2020). Auto-ethnography is a very personal method for student understanding and reflection on their own personal experiences both subjective like a memoir but also resonating with universal human concepts. During virtual education, auto-ethnography is a particularly meaningful way to communicate an individual and cultural experience simultaneously. The personal approach and continual self-reflexivity are good storytelling, building personal connection and emotional resonance with the reader. What could be called a “fusion between social science and screenplay yields a compelling story where effects of reality and human experience come together” (Forber-Pratt, 2015b, p. 821). In addition, the project enabled time-sensitive data collection and research in an unprecedented time of global pandemic and quarantine, providing rare and valuable insight that connects the local to the global through collaborative digital media as called for by Roy and Uekusa (2020). The project was collaborative, producing blogs written by small groups of students, and digital, relying on collaborative digital educational technology for virtual schooling and blogging. The collaborative, digital nature of the project suggests ways to overcome the traditional limitations of ethnography and may be an effective strategy beyond the specific context. To establish a meaningful foundation for this argument, this chapter must position auto-ethnography within the literature on rhetorical narrative, digital media and social scientific pedagogy. This chapter, therefore, argues that auto-ethnography is a valuable pedagogical practice and a rhetorical writing approach during COVID-19 crisis, clearly important in terms of the integration of project-based educational technology, communication through blogging and virtual schooling as well as allowance for critical inquiry of the self through storytelling. Thus, the contents of the blog posts are analyzed in terms of critical self-inquiry, the social construction of society, storytelling, and ethical considerations. The findings show the effectiveness of auto-ethnography as persuasive rhetorical narrative approach and a timely method of sociolinguistics data collection, especially in times of digital media and cultural crisis and raise broad implications for education, writing, sociolinguistics, and digital media.

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AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY AS RHETORICAL NARRATIVE APPROACH As a rhetorical narrative approach, auto-ethnography varies in its “emphasis on writing and research process” (Ellis & Ellingson, 2008, p. 449). Sometimes it is used as a research method, but often it is used as a mechanism for writing about the “inner world” (Holt, 2003, p. 5). Many researchers (Ellis & Ellingson, 2008; Lunceford, 2015) have noted the benefits and challenges of auto-ethnography as a method and narrative approach for rhetorical writing classes. Auto-ethnography is a self-reflexive writing style that produces persuasive communication through storytelling as well as an effective approach for narrative writing and rhetorical discourse (Lunceford, 2015; Olmos-López & Tusting, 2020; Jones, Adams, & Ellis, 2013). Auto-ethnography can be considered “rhetorical” and one of the Aristotelean “methods of persuasion” (Lunceford, 2015, p. 9). Lunceford (2015) added that “Rhetorical auto-ethnography should have the same goal as any other mode of rhetorical criticism: to help us more fully understand the rhetorical artifact under consideration” (p. 11). In order to understand the ‘artifact’ or cultural aspect under consideration, Adams et al. (2015) explained that “auto-ethnographers often start with a journal entry, narrative, poetry, blogs or other forms of personal writing in which authors explore their experiences with the goal of understanding those experiences” (p. 68). The “readers are engaged”, wrote Boylorn and Orbe (2014) by the critical self-inquiry of “the lived experience of similarity and difference at the intersections of diverse racial, class, ethnic, gender, spirituality, age, sexuality, and able-bodied identities” (p.10). Auto-ethnography as a writing style can capture and communicate an experience, especially of sociocultural change (Pinner, 2018). The value of auto-ethnography as a rhetorical writing style lies in the “critical inquiry” of the self “that is embedded in theory and practice” (McIlveen, 2008, p. 3). The ‘critical enquiry’ is in the relationship between culture and self. In auto-ethnography, “we study and write culture from the perspective of the self. We look inward—into our identities, thoughts, feelings and experiences—and outward—into our relationships, communities, and cultures” (Adams et al., 2015, p. 46). As a way of sharing one’s personal “lived experience” (O’Hara, 2018), the writer provides readers with greater understanding of the self than other forms of narrative writing because “narrative and storytelling are powerful tools in auto-ethnographic research” (Paiz, 2016, p. 29). Storytelling is inherent in auto-ethnography, as the writing approach is based on life events represented as stories. As a writing style, auto-ethnography must restructure memories and past events to make a clear narrative and tell a comprehensible story about culture. Storytelling requires much craft and creativity but might distance auto-ethnography from objective social science, since “stories rearrange, redescribe, invent, omit and revise . . . a story is not a neutral attempt to mirror the facts of one’s life; it does not seek to recover already constituted meanings” (Ellis & Bochner, 2000, p. 745). As such, autoethnography creates rhetorical narratives through “situated discourse-construction” (Condit, 1990, p. 342). Condit (1990) added that “the uniquely powerful province of rhetoric [is] judgment of the collective human meaning-making process as it occurs in history through situated discourse-construction” (p. 342). The writer constructed a rhetorical, ‘situated’ discourse for storytelling purpose. Auto-ethnography’s persuasive/rhetorical power is personal storytelling, where someone is sharing their experience of the intersection of personal self and social interaction. Rhetorical auto-ethnography relies on storytelling, which limits its effectiveness as a method of reproducible social science but makes it a very effective tool for cultural communication, particularly effective with digital media integration. Communicating through digital media provides opportunities for authentic experiences and engages authentic audiences with media rhetoric. 58

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AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY AS DIGITAL MEDIA Auto-ethnography, in general and this class project in particular, relies on digital media for written and visual communication, through education technology, social media, and public blogs. Rhetorical autoethnography in the digital age shifts the media of rhetoric onto new digital tools. The early antiquity understanding of the purpose of rhetoric was “to be present in the public life” (Haase, 2020, p. 154). Nowadays, sharing one’s spoken or written rhetoric on social media using digital tools is an equivalent to ‘the public life.’ Digital media shapes and enhances auto-ethnography both as social science research method and rhetorical narrative style as a form of communication and virtual schooling during crisis. Rhetoric, which includes spoken and/or written speech and images, has been part of wide areas of disciplines such as writing, media, communication, and education. In connection, media rhetoric is also based on speech and images. “Media rhetoric is” defined by Haase (2020), “the specific part of a communication process with rhetorical features” (p. 50). This state of dual characteristics puts both rhetoric and media in the same framed situation during the COVID-19 crisis to communicate with other individuals in institutions or over the social media. It becomes possible in the classroom, therefore, to create intertwining related tasks, which essentially enable students to express themselves through spoken and/or written within the availability of digital tools and media through auto-ethnographic narrative. This triangulation of rhetoric, media, and auto-ethnography “produce a narrative that is authentic and thus enable the reader to deeply grasp the experience and interpretation of this one interesting case” (McIlveen, 2008, p. 4). Virtual schooling in crisis relies on education technology that raises new opportunities for students and researchers.

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AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY AS SOCIAL SCIENCE PEDAGOGY Auto-ethnography is a genre of research and writing that connects the personal to the cultural, placing the self within a social context (Reed-Danahay 1997; Holt, 2003; Dunn & Myers, 2020; Olmos-López & Tusting, 2020). The method is centered around the “self” as the vehicle of research (Ortner, 2006) and embraces the recording of experience the researcher has lived through, as “it employs the ‘self’ as the medium through which research transpires” (Luvaas, 2016, p. 12). As a pedagogical method, it develops reflexivity, a concept of increasing theoretical and practical importance to social science research. Intentional critical self-reflection by writing auto-ethnography is impactful, especially for young adult students grappling with cultural crisis, with potentials for building compassion in their readers and uniting fractured collective identities (Camangian, 2010). The focus on interactions in lived experience also gives ethnographic writing a focus cultural experience or holism, that parts of the whole are interconnected and interdependent. Ellis and Ellingson (2008) explained, “The practice of auto-ethnography presumes that reality is socially constructed and that meaning is constructed through symbolic language and interaction” (p. 449). For this, ethnography is an effective way to collect data on social construction because it records social interactions in authentic pedagogical contexts and interprets possible social meanings from different perspectives gained by both an insider and outsider view of the culture. The reflection on one’s cultural experience is often beneficial for social and emotional learning (Wall, 2008; Méndez, 2013). Some authors have even suggested that the validation of one’s experiences can be “transformative” (Boyd, 2016; Sykes, 2014) and have implications for social justice and reclaiming rights (Forber-Pratt, 2015a; Ellis & Calafell, 2020). According to Reed-Danahay (1997), the focus on 59

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the “self” as the researcher doing research recognizes that the experience of the self is dynamic and not “fixed” (p. 3). As a social science pedagogical method, auto-ethnography has strengths in providing immediacy, reflexivity, and potentials for social justice while it teaches the student researchers to collect data on their lived experiences immediately and dynamically as culturally produced and culture-producing persons on a range of social issues. However, there are some practical, theoretical, and ethical issues that make teaching through autoethnography difficult. Practically speaking, training in ethnographic observation, cultural relativism, and reflexivity is necessary to produce sound social analysis based on one’s personal observations instead of just journaling or memoir. With training, the ethnographer can interpret how things are given meaning by society through social construction and is capable of critical self-reflexivity and re-interpreting the recorded experience. However, even with training, critics say the method “highlights more than ever issues of representation, ‘objectivity,’ data quality, legitimacy, and ethics” (Wall, 2008, p. 39). Given the largely informal observations and “hanging out” of ethnography, especially the personal narrative of auto-ethnography, observers and researchers struggle to navigate institutional policies and procedures to address validity concerns (Forber-Pratt, 2015b). The focus on the ‘self’ which produces such benefits, also has inherent theoretical drawbacks to representativeness and validity (Holt, 2003). Also, many professional ethical guidelines are problematic in the context of auto-ethnography including informed consent, honesty, doing no harm to participants, and keeping data confidential and secure. To find a solution, national anthropology associations produce statements on ethical guidelines to standardize expectations in the field and academic institutions require Institutional Review Board clearance of research on human subjects. In addition to ethical issues, there are other theoretical and practical issues with auto-ethnography to consider. A certain limitation is connected to the position as an individual within culture, especially when there are learners from different backgrounds and linguistic abilities. However, Roy and Uekusa (2020) have suggested that a collaborative auto-ethnographic project may resolve many of the inherent issues of individual auto-ethnography and compound the method’s strengths.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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The argument of this chapter is based on the analysis of student blogs from the Quaran-Teens 2020 project, analyzing their collaborative digital published work to evaluate the collaborative auto-ethnographic method. The particular relevance of the time-sensitive student research in an unprecedented time of global pandemic and quarantine provides rare and valuable insight that connects the local to the global through collaborative digital media. This section, therefore, addresses the participants of the study and the teaching strategy used to collect the data.

Participants of the Study The Quaran-Teens 2020 blog series was written by twenty-six high school senior students taking International Baccalaureate (IB) Social and Cultural Anthropology at Lausanne Collegiate School, a private, co-educational, K-12, international school in Memphis, Tennessee, USA (Hodges 2020). Students gathered research from March through April and the blogs were published from May to June, 2020 on Anthrodendum.org. All students consented to publish under their names or were at least eighteen years-

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old upon blog publication. The particular school context meant that the classes were very diverse in terms of gender, nationality, ethnic background, and economic class. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced educational institutions to close their doors, turn to distance learning, and the May IB exams were cancelled, the Anthropology senior classes turned to a collaborative auto-ethnographic project as a meaningful way to learn about living through cultural crisis. By March 28, 2020, students began the project using Microsoft OneNote and Teams by chronicling their transition into virtual school. Then, over three weeks of quarantine in March and April 2020, students collected data on their lived experiences of the pandemic in the form of photographs, screenshots of social media and virtual school, in person and virtual interviews and observations, and personal reflections in their own OneNote ethnographic report of the major themes they observed. Their personal and social written experiences were based on anthropological analyses that focus on different items such as communication, society, belonging, materiality, classification, the body, health, and conflicts. After student data collection and reflections were complete in early April, students were put in small teams of three to four students according to the similar topics of their analysis with a team leader for quality and thoroughness of their individual work. This grouping was based on the quality and themes of individual reports and included students across two sections of IB Anthropology Standard Level and Higher Level. Such cross-sections were possible in asynchronous virtual schooling in a way that would not have been possible in the normal campus schedule. Each group worked collaboratively through Teams and Google Docs to write a blog post. The team leader organized the subheadings, term definitions, detailed data, clear analysis of theory, ethical considerations, and visual images. Then, teams had one week to proofread and finalize revisions based on teacher feedback and the team leader assigned revision tasks to teammates. Table 1 lists each student group with the team leader, whose name is bolded for the issue of citing them throughout the chapter, blog title, and date of publication on Anthrodendum.org.

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Data Collection The data for this chapter are excerpts from the Quaran-Teens 2020 series of eight collaborative blogs based on a collaborative, digital, auto-ethnographic class project in their senior Anthropology classes. In terms of educational philosophy and practice, the auto-ethnographic class project aimed to teach understanding of the lived experiences of crisis through collaborative digital media. This unique form of virtual collaboration was made possible because of asynchronous virtual schooling, collaborative technology tools, and rhetorical media. The IB Social and Cultural Anthropology course includes content and skills training in ethnographic observation as part of the internal assessment component, which makes up an important portion of the final IB score. The internal assessment steps include oral presentation of the fieldwork proposal, fieldwork including participant observation, written research report, and written critical reflection. When learning to do ethnographic observation, students were instructed to focus on three levels: • • •

What is physically or objectively happening? What does something mean within the culture? What are the relevant universal concepts in the human experience?

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Table 1. Shows the list of student authors, titles, and dates of each blog in the series Names

Quaran-Teens 2020 Blog Title

Date of Blog Publication

Ali Weaver, Emma Hopper Logan Segal Avery Broughton

“How Communication has Changed through Quarantine”

May 4, 2020

Drew Culbreath Ved Dalal Lucas Feliz

“Our Constantly Evolving Society”

May 11, 2020

Will Neff Sophie Jones Suneil Patel

“Familial Belonging in Quarantine: Balancing Personal and Family Identities at Home”

May 18, 2020

Trip Magdovitz Bobbie Burnham Ibrahim Farooq

“Materiality and Production in Pandemic: A High School Perspective”

May 25, 2020

Ambria Williams Tevy Byrd Robert Jungklas

Quarantined Bodies: Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

June 1, 2020

Phillip Kulubya Daniel Baymiller Bryant Haley

“Classification During Quarantine”

June 8, 2020

Yagmur Onder Shivani Koka Steven Gao

“Cultural Impact on Health”

June 15, 2020

Orli Katz Leila Akinwumiju Kayla Pointer Ameerah Turner

“Changes Because of Quarantine”

June 22, 2020

Only a few months from graduation, the students had thorough skills training in preparation for the auto-ethnographic project for which the highest marks for the subject guide (International Baccalaureate Organisation, 2017) are given for the following achievements: •

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• • • • • • •

If the student demonstrates conceptual awareness, insight, and knowledge and understanding which are evident in the skills of critical thinking; A high level of ability to provide answers which are fully developed, structured in a logical and coherent manner and illustrated with appropriate examples; A precise use of terminology which is specifc to the subject; Familiarity with the literature of the subject; The ability to analyze and evaluate evidence and to synthesize knowledge and concepts; Awareness of alternative points of view and subjective and ideological biases, and the ability to come to reasonable, albeit tentative, conclusions; Consistent evidence of critical refective thinking; And a high level of profciency in analyzing and evaluating data or problem solving.

Though the students were already quite practiced at ethnographic methods, the collaborative, digital, and auto-ethnographic components of the project were new to them. During the project, they were regu-

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larly formatively and summatively assessed both individually and collectively as teams based on both synchronous and asynchronous virtual school work. Each student was required to contribute: • • • •

data they had heard or observed, including photographs and screenshots, personal refection, conceptual analysis and engagement with social theory, and ethical considerations.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF QUARAN-TEENS EXCERPTS

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Staying home with classes online until the normal end of the school year in May (Barnes et al., 2020) moved students and teachers to virtual schooling during the pandemic. In this context, students conducted a collaborative auto-ethnography blogging project to study their lived cultural experiences, both applying social scientific knowledge and skills about interconnection of language and society and sharing that personal and social understanding through global digital media. In auto-ethnography, “we study and write culture from the perspective of the self. We look inward—into our identities, thoughts, feelings and experiences—and outward—into our relationships, communities, and cultures” (Adams et al., 2015, p. 46). Lunceford (2015) also added that “Rhetorical auto-ethnography should have the same goal as any other mode of rhetorical criticism: to help us more fully understand the rhetorical artifact under consideration” (p. 11). In order to understand the cultural aspect under consideration, Adams et al. (2015) explained that “auto-ethnographers often start with a journal entry, narrative, poetry, blogs or other forms of personal writing in which authors explore their experiences with the goal of understanding those experiences” (p. 68). For this purpose, over eight collaborative blogs, students gathered data on a range of social issues, shared their experiences, and reflected family and kinship, language, rituals change, technology and social media communication, materiality, globalization, and more. Each blog weaved together individual and collective understanding of their experiences during quarantine, illustrating critical self-reflection, storytelling, and application of social theory. The auto-ethnographic method became inherently reflexive of the self as the agent of research, attuned to the role of the individual within society. The excerpts are analyzed in terms of rhetorical storytelling, critical self-inquiry, and collective social construction as they were “Shifting to a ‘New Normal’,” how they were both produced by culture and culture-producing while they had to “Mature Together” with their families, and reflection on the emotional and ethical impacts of being “Bound by the Walls of Our Homes.”

Shifting to a ‘New Normal’ Writing is a process that takes time, and the students were often able to emotionally unpack their experiences through writing and revising phases of the project. Each blog described the shift to online school as process of change in their lives and establishing a new a daily routine, illustrating how self-reflection was combined with storytelling and collaboration to produce a collective narrative. In their blog, Weaver et al. (2020) further narrated the events and emotions during the uncertain first days of lockdown:

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The transition began during the week of Spring Break; the trip my mother and I were scheduled for was cancelled, so we were starting to drive back. About halfway on our trip back home, we received an email about [school] switching to online courses. From there, we went straight to the grocery store to pick up some food; while we were there, we could see other people stacking up on toilet paper and hand sanitizers. The weekend was spent secluded in the house; I had to leave briefly to pick up something from my father who lives downtown. The following weeks, I would begin my online schooling on Microsoft Teams. The first day we received no assignments, so I went on Facetime with one of my best friends, B. It was not until the next day when I had my assignments and could set up my schedule. I would wake up every weekday at 7:40, work from 9 to 12, eat my lunch, work for a few more hours in the afternoon, then try to go outside to either walk or just sit in the backyard. In their quarantine stories, the immediacy and detail of their writing allows the reader to experience familiar events with the author. Their personal storytelling gives their experience an emotional and narrative coherence that they did not have while living through uncertainty and generates a clearer sense of ‘self’ (Wall, 2008; Adams et al. 2015; Paiz, 2016). As each student shared their personal experiences, they were individually reflecting on how life changed but also as a collaborative experience, they were able to reflect on what they share with the wider society. Weaver et al. (2020) added in their blog:

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In a world where “online” was an optional thing, it is now required for most individuals. Communication through the source of technology and social media has allowed individuals to interact virtually, keeping their social interactions to a minimum. Our sense of communication during this quarantine has completely shifted. We used to communicate through FaceTime, texting, and calling on our cellphones as an optional tool. However, in this time, we are having to rely solely on our devices for our source of communication for work, school, and any further communication with family members as well as friends… We are only able to connect with teachers through a laptop and to our family, and not being able to see our friends in person has had a grave effect on most young people, including myself. As a collaborative writing project, the students were forced to explicitly connect the ‘self’ to society through comparison with others in the group. The shift from using the individual “I” to tell a personal story to the collective “we” indicates a broader understanding of the self in society, a meaningful linguistic shift that both implicitly and explicitly includes the reader as well. The digital collaborative autoethnographic project enabled students to connect their personal emotional experiences with each other and beyond, recognizing that the experience of quarantine and isolation has had a grave effect on most young people. This combination of individual and collaborative storytelling is particularly emotionally and academically effective (Condit, 1990); and it is perhaps even more effective media rhetoric in the context of global crisis because of the global reach of the shared experiences (Roy & Uekusa, 2020). The need for contextualization to tell a coherent story led students through a process of “conscious self-interrogation” of their own “embodiment” (Luvaas, 2016, p. 13). The students connected the embodied ‘self’ in a broader social context of a ‘society’ with shared experiences, characteristic of auto-ethnography (Reed-Danahay 1997). In their blog team, Culbreath et al. (2020) reflected on their ‘shared experiences of isolation,’ health procedures, and social distancing during the spread of COVID-19 by sharing that: Even though everyone is having to undergo social distancing in order to remain safe and healthy during the spread of COVID-19, we are connected through our shared experiences of isolation… Instead

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of interacting with people physically on a day-to-day basis, we are now having to stay at least six feet apart from one another in addition to formalized shelter in place and stay at home mandates that are being regulated by local, state, and federal [sic] governments. Such precautions are vital for ensuring our health and flattening the curve; however, these measures can lead to people feeling lonely and depressed due to the lack of social interaction. When watching television, I noticed that there was a series of advertisements on CBS, in which celebrities were promoting social distancing and were explaining that even though we have to separate from one another we are all actually #AloneTogether. In this excerpt, Culbreath et al. (2020) shifted the narrative from the collective ‘we’ back to the individual ‘I’, as an example of how this format pushes the writer to critically reflect back on their own experiences after having considered the larger social comparisons. McIlveen (2008) indicated, “Auto-ethnography entails writing about oneself as a researcher-practitioner, but it is not the same as autobiography in the literary sense. It is not simply the telling of a life—not that doing such would be simple. It is a specific form of critical enquiry that is embedded in theory and practice” (p. 3). The explicit critical self-inquiry in relation to culture came from Williams et al. (2020), who wrote in their blog: I feel as if I share a group identity with the class of 2020 as we have the shared experience of not having a normal end to our high school careers. Social memory is one resource that can shape identity and I have been able to witness social memory unfolding before me on social media. […] The shared experiences of being quarantined at home, having online schooling, having to miss prom and other iconic high school events, as well as having to witness a global pandemic has created a social and shared memory amongst students and the class of 2020, therefore forming a unique group of students who I relate to and identify. Even though I have missed out on some iconic high school experiences, I realized through social media that I am not alone and that I am extremely grateful for what I have during this time of unrest.

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The students’ ‘new normal’ thoroughly relied on digital media and information technology. The availability of digital tools and platform dominated how people communicated and for what purposes when they forcefully changed their lifestyle and their priorities. The sudden reliance on new forms of physical isolation and virtual connection produced a rare sociolinguistic context where auto-ethnographic methods was uniquely well suited to collect data on language and society (Roy & Uekusa, 2020). Students in this project recorded data they saw and heard from Microsoft Teams and OneNote, Facetime, Facebook, WhatsApp, iMessage, TikTok, Zoom, Reddit, and other digital media. From their use of these apps and websites, students recorded new forms of slang, “such as ‘the Q’ and ‘the Qtine’ as well as ‘The Ronies.’ In their blog, Katz et al. (2020) mentioned that: Colloquial language and abbreviation can be a possible way for human culture to cope with change. However, humor as a mechanism in human culture may create conflict as well because under trying circumstances, humor can be viewed as inappropriate and inconsiderate to those fighting the virus. [...] Language use is often seen as a resource for shaping identity. So, people online or at home choose specific language to illustrate their teen identity or any other form. In this excerpt, Katz et al. (2020) analyzed the importance of both humor and language for human culture and illustrated how clearly the blogs reflected on the self and society in terms of social construction and social theory. Students illustrated how auto-ethnography “presumes that reality is socially 65

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constructed and that meaning is constructed through symbolic language and interaction” (Berger & Luckmann, 1966 quoted in Ellis & Ellingson, 2008, p. 449). As the data analysis showed, the blog series focused on sociolinguistics, including both the use of individual and social language, illustrating the role of the individual, and the collective group of high school seniors as culturally produced and culture-producing. Auto-ethnography as a teaching and learning method, therefore, became particularly effective as a method of sociolinguistics data collection and interpretation, illustrating the “explosion of new words and phrases” that “brings people together around a set of collective cultural reference points” (Lawson, 2020). However, the shift to a ‘new normal’ was not seamless but rather fraught with disruption and identity crisis for many students.

We Have to Mature Together This section of data analysis highlights the excerpts in which students grapple with differences and disruptions of their identities, especially in terms of their relationships with family, gender, age, routine, and technology. In a collaborative framework, students had to collectively make sense of the different experiences, identities, and responses they had to the same crisis, based on their individual, family, and economic situations. The “multiplicity of evocative narratives and theoretical lenses” in collaborative auto-ethnography is particularly well-suited to this rhetorical writing task, as “readers are engaged by the lived experience of similarity and difference at the intersections of diverse racial, class, ethnic, gender, spirituality, age, sexuality, and able-bodied identities (Boylorn et al., 2014, 10). The student bloggers established a collective cohesion and mutual recognition to ‘mature together’ beyond their different, intersectional experiences. Showing the individual and collective reflection on the students’ experiences of family, gender, and age, Neff et al. (2020) wrote:

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We as students came to a conclusion through observation that the forced physical closeness of quarantine does not necessarily equate to a greater strength of family belonging, or the affinity or human desire to belong to a family. In order to maintain family belonging, we observed the reconstruction and recalibration of personal and group identities and new techniques of family belonging rituals. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Student J and her mom go on walks around the neighborhood and discuss their days. Student J observed shifting gender roles through her father taking on more “motherly activities” such as cooking and cleaning in the absence of his work while her mother is now the one working. On April 8th, Student J’s dad delivered a tray of snacks during what would have been break time at school, this helped her have a better feeling of belonging at home. Illustrating how auto-ethnography “is an ideal way of knowing and understanding the complexities of cultural identities” (Yep, 2004, p. 77), Neff et al. (2020) added: Student N observed family bonding rituals as affirming both personal and our family identities He observed a family bonding ritual “cocktail hour,” a time before dinner, where he and his family sat on the front porch of his house and just talked. Despite a family member of his practicing sobriety for years, and two others being underaged, cocktail hour was a time for all the members of the family to convene and engage in the lighthearted social conversation that often broke family taboos of what is traditionally appropriate to speak of between family members and strengthening the sense of family belonging

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by introducing more personal, friend-to-friend topics. His family member said, ‘We have always done what feels right as a family, you know now that we are all adults in some regard, we have to mature together, or we won’t mature at all. As a narrative process, this form of writing requires students to be attentive to what is happening in their lives and then reframe their experiences to make sense as a narrative story. In doing so, the students must conceptualize the social meaning implied in specific, often personal and emotional, moments. However, since the project was collaborative, they also had to confront the challenges of concluding or generalizing based on contradictory and varied experiences. On the one hand, Onder et al. (2020) stated, “I noticed that my family is in a better mood due to less stress and more time at home. We are getting along much better because we are bonding more. Activities like cooking, going on walks, yoga, and movies have elevated our moods.” On the other hand, Neff et al. (2020) wrote, “Staying at home constantly with the family has been no less than an immense psychological and physical strain on every member of the family.” They thus need a range of social theories to explain the divergent experiences of family, routine, and identity. Onder et al. (2020) wrote: Rituals and routines function to provide a sense of comfort in the human experience. Rituals are stylized, usually repetitive acts that take place at a set time and location. They can contribute towards the affirmation of our identities through a certain performance. For example, D.O.’s routine of specialized workouts in addition to the transition from traditional to virtual learning, establishes her sense of self and belonging as the place in which her identity is largely influenced as a teenager (her high school) has changed to her bedroom. Malinowski explains that rituals can have a psychotherapeutic quality. Understood in that way, rituals may bring comfort and reassurance in this time of a global crisis, especially for the youth who are unaccustomed to completing their school work at their own schedules. Attempting to explain their different auto-ethnographic experiences of rituals in terms of social theory from their anthropology textbook, Kulubya et al. (2020) wrote:

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Two theories of rituals are from Durkheim – in which ritual is a means to create social bonds and maintain social and moral order or social integration – and Malinowski – in which rituals help control emotions and are important because of psychotherapeutic quality (Pountney & Maric 2015, p. 167). I myself have felt a loss of order, I feel as if my daily rituals have been disrupted and I am out of sync. The rituals performed to maintain social order are no longer occurring. One of the daily routines that changed the most was the shift to virtual schooling, but students experienced this shift very differently. Even though the students shared the same school and anthropology class, they had very different individual experiences as noted by Magdovitz et al. (2020): Some said that school was a lot less difficult and easier to manage because they needed less material and supplies to do their work and could do so without even leaving their home. Others complained that their computers and electronics could not keep up with the growing emphasis on technology and resorted to using phones or apple products rather than their computers to be in classes.

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In auto-ethnography, all the different experiences are affirmed as data on their experiences of culture. The collaborative, mutual recognition of different, intersectional experiences produced a complex narrative interpreted through different social theories.

The Digital/Material Divide The mandated social distancing brought new focus to digital technology and ‘virtual’ closeness. Magdovitz et al. (2020) showed how students were able to observe, interpret, and tell an enticing and well-theorized story about the intersections of the material/physical with the digital/virtual:

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Material culture examines how ‘things’ have meaning, where social reality is grounded in objects. In digital space, physical objects are shown through the unique framing of a person’s digital camera. Material objects relating to technology shapes these interactions. This includes microphones, cameras, processors, memory storage, and more. These physical objects are all key to the ways that digital expression is possible. For example, on the online meeting platform Zoom, two kinds of material objects have an impact on how symbolic expression is possible, with a green-screen effect that we can use to have a physical green-screen run a green-screen effect without a physical green-screen. Alone, these material objects have little meaning. However, in the digital context and space of Zoom, they gain new meaning as objects through which we are told how people think about the world around them and about culture and people’s lives. These objects are tools that take on meaning when used and are also shaped by human action. When virtual ‘objects’ are shared via online mediums, they are symbolic of the meanings given to them through the broader culture of those who share and receive it. Students had many available digital tools to become effective ethnographic bloggers and to “be present in public life” (Haase, 2020). Students discussed how they communicated with others and illustrated the importance of memes and video chats to their social lives. Being in quarantine, people in general used the available digital tools and social media for communication and sharing information, knowledge about the coronavirus, and their own experiences. Students’ lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic showed the blend of physical and virtual for communication, entertainment, work, and school. Each blog noted how the social situation complicated physical/virtual boundaries, especially with reference to technology and communication. The physical space of school and/or work shifted to virtual connection over internet WIFI accessed at home. Many of their experiences were more integrated than separated, including the video streaming application TikTok and the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing with school friends and family Passover over Zoom video conference. One student took a photo at a grocery store, adding the filter “Weekend Vibes” and sending the image to friends (Katz et al., 2020). Magdovitz et al. (2020) also noted how the digital world relies on physical materials (like microphones, cameras, processors, etc.) and gives them new meaning shaped by what people do on digital media. Though explicitly self-aware of their own roles in cultural production, all students discussed the impacts of physical/virtual boundaries and communication technology. Through auto-ethnography, students recorded and reflected on their own physical, emotional, social, and material experiences and produced critical-self-inquiry. Through collaboration, students realized the similarities and differences between their experiences with materiality and considered the relevance of social theories. And through writing the story-telling narrative, they realized interplay of self and society that helped the students see themselves as both culturally produced and culture producing people. 68

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Figure 1. Screenshot of the author in “class” (Magdovitz et al. 2020)

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Figure 2. Photo by author (Katz et al. 2020)

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Bound by the Walls of Our Homes The Quaran-Teen students were required to consider the issues involved with ethnography and explicitly explain their processes. Auto-ethnography and ethnography in general face practical issues of trust and access, theoretical issues of representativeness and positionality, and ethical issues of informed consent and confidentiality (Pountney & Maric, 2015; Spinelli et al., 2020). However, many of the limitations of these methods can actually be ameliorated through collaborative auto-ethnography (Roy & Uekusa, 2020). The Quaran-Teens’ collaborative auto-ethnography tried to study their own experiences with sound and ethical methods, ‘bound by the walls of their homes.’ In their blog, Katz et al. (2020) wrote that they asked for consent and parental consent for minors but did not ask for consent from content creators on TikTok because it is a public platform. Neff et al. (2020) also gained verbally informed consent but even with that consent, were careful of or avoided engaging with sensitive or ‘straining’ topics. They mentioned that “Student N realized he had to stress a comprehensive explanation of the project because he understood that his parents wouldn’t say no to a school project, so he had to make sure they understood it enough to be comfortable.” Weaver et al. (2020) further expounded the necessity but difficulty of gaining informed consent from their participants as they wrote: We all gained verbal consent by our family and friends to allow them to understand what we were observing which may or may not have affected the reliability as individuals are prone to social desirability in light of knowing they are being observed. Maintaining ethical standards is highly important, as protecting individuals physically and emotionally is our top priority as researchers as we seek to understand and analyze from an insider’s perspective of being in a world bound by the walls of our homes.

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Given the social dynamics of being teenagers living at home with parents and family, Neff et al. (2020) recognized that they “practiced participant observation instead of detached observation.” In general, during participant observation where the researcher participates in what they observe, researchers gain a better insider understanding of esoteric meaning. However, participant observation has inherent weaknesses that range from risk to the researcher, to social desirability effect and observer bias, to overestimating the representativeness of one’s personal experience. Thus, crucial to participant observation is being explicit about one’s subjective access and position. Considering their own positionality, Onder et al. (2020) stated in their blog: Families of different social & economic positions may respond to quarantine differently. My family is not struggling during self-quarantine with consideration to my economic status as displayed by my ability to live in a suburb outside a major city. […] I realize that my position (social, economic, and geographic) affects my opinion of quarantine because of what’s discussed around me. Because of this, I talk to friends across the United States and even family in Turkey to understand how they’re dealing with self-quarantine. The data from my family members restricts my ability to generalize towards the larger population because my family are two health-care workers and a twin sister who live comfortably: I’m not in direct access with individuals that may be suffering from self-quarantine and my understanding of psychotherapeutic comfort in rituals during this time could be enhanced by observing what families of different positions are doing during this time. However, analysis of my autoethnographic data in terms of ritual and kinship connect these individual experiences with broader themes in anthropology.

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Even though students recognized the limitations of their experiences, they argued for the importance of their findings. Onder et al. (2020) realized that “The primary role of the anthropologist is to accurately share their understanding of the human experience without putting individuals at risk in terms of their privacy and safety.” Everyone in the context of pandemic quarantine experienced some health risk of contagion, so auto-ethnography was one of the only methods of social science data collection possible (Roy & Uekusa, 2020). The risk was present, to both researchers and participants, but it was precisely the global risk that made the study so important to the students’ writing. In this regard, Katz et al. (2020) pointed out that “In this time of coronavirus pandemic, physical ethnographic observation outside of the home can create risk. Instead, we gathered auto-ethnographic data from observing and interviewing our own friends and family at home and virtually.” The collaborative and digital aspects of the Quaran-Teens project may have overcome some of the traditional ethical, practical, and theoretical limitations of auto-ethnography but raised new issues about health risk.

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CONCLUSION AND FURTHER IMPLICATIONS Quaran-Teens 2020 was a digital, collaborative, auto-ethnography blog series based on a shared pandemic experience by two classes of IB Anthropology. Since the COVID-19 pandemic had widespread global effects, especially to teaching and learning, the Quaran-Teens 2020 blog series case study illustrated some practices and potentials of collaborative digital media. This chapter analyzed the project’s effectiveness for rhetorical writing, digital media, and social science pedagogy, especially during this global crisis. The examination of data from Quaran-Teens blog excerpts found that auto-ethnography was an effective pedagogical method because it was timely, reflexive, and affirming. Collecting and interpreting data about lived experience in society is arguably most significant in social crisis and change. Perhaps the key benefit of auto-ethnography in the coronavirus crisis was the immediacy of collecting data as it happened while under “stay at home” orders as Salmons (2020) suggested. The students’ data would have been practically impossible for any other researcher to collect, given the logistics of local and global quarantine orders. The auto-ethnographic method is inherently reflexive of the self as the agent of research, attuned to the role of the individual within society. The students gathered data on a range of social issues including classification, language, family and kinship, technology and social media communication, materiality, globalization, and more. An effective pedagogical project for students to learn about social construction and holism, reflexive students were able to notice how they were being produced by culture around them. Auto-ethnography is affirming of intersectionality and agency as students were able to reflect on how they also produced culture themselves through their actions with family and friends. Given the quarantine requirements to remain at home, all the students spent a lot more time with their families than normal and often found the changes challenging. Through the blog project, students’ own experiences, roles, and actions were affirmed as valid data, whether they did exercise, games and puzzles, made face masks, or cooking. As student anthropologists, the Quaran-Teens are perhaps more self-aware than otherwise about their own agency over social changes and responses to them within sociocultural contexts of society, family, and high school senior (Weaver et al. 2020). Analysis of the excerpts from Quaran-Teens found its effectiveness as a rhetorical writing approach because of the value of critical self-inquiry and persuasive storytelling. As a rhetorical writing style, auto-ethnography is particularly effective at communicating an individual and cultural experience 72

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Figure 3. Photo by author to display social & economic position (Onder et al. 2020)

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simultaneously. The teens were able to “examine everyday interpersonal and cultural experiences of identity from the inside out” while both they and their readers could “appreciate the ways in which an intersectional approach reveals the relationships among culture, communication, identity, emotions, and everyday lived experience. Through a multiplicity of evocative narratives and theoretical lenses, readers are engaged by the lived experience of similarity and difference at the intersections of diverse racial, class, ethnic, gender, spirituality, age, sexuality, and able-bodied identities” (Boylorn et al., 2017). The young auto-ethnographers, and their readers, were able to engage with their intersectional experiences and experience a collective cohesion and mutual recognition. The personal approach and continual selfreflexivity are good storytelling, building personal connection and emotional resonance with the reader. What could be called a “fusion between social science and screenplay yields a compelling story where effects of reality and human experience come together” (Forber-Pratt, 2015b). Crucially, the students’ stories “welcome readers into these experiences, encourage us to compare and interrogate our own perceptions, and reveal the challenges and opportunities we face in negotiating our worldviews with the understandings of others in our communities” (Boylorn et al, 2017). Though especially relevant to virtual schooling in crisis, the blog project also raised issues more broadly relevant to digital pedagogy topics like project-based learning, educational technology, and digital media rhetoric. In terms of the use of digital auto-ethnography, students benefited from the available digital tools to become effective bloggers for educational purposes and to “be present in public life” (Haase, 2020). As Weaver et al. (2020) mentioned in their blog, “Our sense of communication during this quarantine has completely shifted from optional to crucial.” Students noted the role of virtual schooling to introduce new forms of communication for all students, as well as the unique role of high school seniors during this time. For this, students and teachers used the available technologies to do their assignments and continue their schooling tasks. For these students, virtual schooling included sharing their experiences over public blogs. Via the use of digital tools for education, students in this study became skilled in using social media for their learning purposes. Interestingly, no student mentioned a lack of internet access, indicating a certain level of privilege and limited socioeconomic perspective. There are some general limitations to ethnography and some specific limitations to the context of this project for those seeking to replicate its effectiveness. The context of the Quaran-Teens student bloggers includes a diverse and collaborative student body at a private international school, and the end of an advanced course of Social and Cultural Anthropology. In that social, educational, and economic context, the students were already well-trained in ethnographic methods and educational collaboration over digital media, though new to both auto-ethnography and virtual schooling in crisis. Some students like Onder et al. (2020) explicitly noted that their upper-class economic position shaped their experience and sociolinguistic conclusions about quarantine. With any change from this context, there would be unknown implications for the effectiveness of the collaborative, digital, auto-ethnographic project. Other limitations of auto-ethnography are still present, for the immediacy of data collection increases the potential of misunderstanding. In times of acute economic, health, and sociocultural crisis, the issues raised by such an intimate and personal method are even more problematic, though simultaneously the very context that makes the method uniquely valuable. It is precisely the auto-ethnographer’s personal experience that is not able to be obtained any other way than auto-ethnography: of personal or social illness, unemployment, uncertainty, danger, strong negative emotions like anxiety, exclusion, lack of household necessities like toilet paper, extended time with immediate family in the home. Personal and collective experience, though valid data, will need to be contextualized with further social scientific study on the COVID-19 crisis. 74

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In honor of all students, teachers, researchers, and readers who lived this pandemic, this chapter may serve to inspire present and future educators to write and share their stories in times of crisis. Suggesting a meaningful digital collaboration, the project has had broader implications as a social science method, narrative writing approach, digital media, and high-quality educational assignment beyond the current pandemic crisis. For social scientists, the collaborative nature of the project suggests ways to overcome ethnographic issues with objectivity, reliability, and validity (Lapadat, 2017; Roy & Uekusa, 2020). For teachers, the project suggests new ways for engagement with digital pedagogy. In the context of global crisis and virtual schooling, auto-ethnography is a valuable writing method of persuasive storytelling and engaging narrative. Since the present study was a cross-sectional blog project for a few months of the pandemic in 2020, future research is needed for the longer impact of COVID-19 on different socioeconomic or educational contexts, in different subjects, or in different levels of schooling.

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Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. (2000). Auto-ethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 733–768). Academic Press. Ellis, C., & Ellingson, L. L. (2008). Auto-ethnography as constructionist project. In J. A. Holstein & J. F. Gubrium (Eds.), Handbook of Constructionist Research (pp. 445–465). The Guilform Press. Ellis, C. D., & Calafell, B. M. (2020). Toward praxis: Interrogating social justice within auto-ethnography. Journal of Auto-ethnography, 1(2), 203–207. doi:10.1525/joae.2020.1.2.203 Forber-Pratt, A. J. (2015a). It’s not like you’re going to college anyway: A performative auto-ethnography. In R. J. Berger & L. S. Lorenz (Eds.), Disability and Qualitative Inquiry: Methods for Rethinking an Ableist World (pp. 175–207). Ashgate Press.

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Forber-Pratt, A. J. (2015b). You’re going to do what? Challenges of auto-ethnography in the academy. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(9), 821–835. doi:10.1177/1077800415574908 HaaseF. A. (2020, January 10). Media rhetoric: The history, theory and applications of rhetoric as mediated communication. doi:10.2139srn.3517032 Hodges, R. (2020, June 29). Quaran-Teens 2020: Reflections on Teaching Auto-Ethnography to QuaranTeens 2020. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/06/29/quaran-teens-2020-reflections-onteaching-auto-ethnography-to-quaran-teens-2020/ Holt, N. (2003). Representation, legitimation and auto-ethnography: An auto-ethnographic writing story. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(1), 1–10. doi:10.1177/160940690300200102 International Baccalaureate Organisation. (2017). Diploma Programme: Social and cultural anthropology guide. Geneva, Switzerland: Author. Jones, S. H., Adams, T. E., & Ellis, C. (2013). Handbook of auto-ethnography. Left Coast Press. Katz, O., Akinwumiju, L., Pointer, K., & Turner, A. (2020, June 22). Quaran-Teens 2020: Changes because of quarantine. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/06/22/quaran-teens-2020-changesbecause-of-quarantine/ Kulubya, P., Baymiller, D., & Haley, B. (2020, June 8). Quaran-Teens 2020: Classification during quarantine. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/06/08/quaran-teens-2020-classificationduring-quarantine/ Lawson, R. (2020, April 20). Coronavirus has led to an explosion of new words and phrases—and that helps us cope. https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-led-to-an-explosion-of-new-words-andphrases-and-that-helps-us-cope-136909 Lunceford, B. (2015). Rhetorical Auto-ethnography. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, 5(1), 1–20. http://brettlunceford.com/RhetoricalAuto-ethnography.pdf Luvaas, B. (2016). Street Style. Bloomsbury Press. doi:10.5040/9781474262910 Magdovitz, T., Burnham, B., & Farooq, I. (2020, May 25). Quaran-Teens 2020: Materiality and production in pandemic: A High School Perspective. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/05/25/ quaran-teens-2020-materiality-and-production-in-pandemic-a-high-school-perspective/

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McIlveen, P. (2008). Auto-ethnography as a method for reflexive research and practice in vocational psychology. Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 13–20. doi:10.1177/103841620801700204 Méndez, M. (2013). Auto-ethnography as a research method: Advantages, limitations and criticisms. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 15(2), 279–287. doi:10.14483/udistrital.jour.calj.2013.2.a09 Neff, W., Jones, S., & Patel, S. (2020, May 18). Quaran-Teens 2020: Familial belonging in quarantine: Balancing personal and family identities at home. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/05/18/ quaran-teens-2020-familial-belonging-in-quarantine-balancing-personal-and-family-identities-at-home/

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Olmos-López, P., & Tusting, K. (2020). Auto-ethnography and the study of academic literacies: Exploring space, team research and mentoring. Trabalhos em Lingüística Aplicada, 59(1), 264–295. doi:10.1 590/010318136565715912020 Onder, Y., Koka, S., & Gao, S. (2020, June 15). Quaran-Teens 2020: Cultural impact on health. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/06/15/quaran-teens-2020-cultural-impact-on-health/ Paiz, J. M. (2016). Book review: Auto-ethnography: understanding qualitative research. Journal of Second Language Writing, 34, 28–30. doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2016.09.002 Pinner, R. S. (2018). Re-learning from experience: Using auto-ethnography for teacher development. Educational Action Research, 26(1), 91–105. doi:10.1080/09650792.2017.1310665 Pountney, L., & Maric, T. (2015). Introducing anthropology: What makes us human? Polity Press. Reed-Danahay, D. (1997). Auto/Ethnography: Rewriting the self and the social. Berg Publishers. Roy, R., & Uekusa, S. (2020). Collaborative autoethnography: Self-reflection as a timely alternative research approach during the global pandemic. Qualitative Research Journal, 20(4), 383–392. doi:10.1108/ QRJ-06-2020-0054 Spinelli, M., Lionetti, F., Pastore, M., & Fasolo, M. (2020). Parents’ stress and children’s psychological problems in families facing the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. Frontiers in Psychology 11(1713). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01713 Sykes, B. E. (2014). Transformative auto-ethnography: An examination of cultural identity and its implications for learners. Adult Learning, 25(1), 3–10. doi:10.1177/1045159513510147 Wall, S. (2008). Easier said than done: Writing an auto-ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 7(1), 38-53. doi:10.1177/160940690800700103 Weaver, A., Hopper, E., Segal, L., & Broughton, A. (2020, May 4). Quaran-Teens 2020: How communication has changed through quarantine. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/05/04/ quaran-teens-2020-how-communication-has-changed-through-quarantine/

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WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. (2020). https://www. who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid19---11-march-2020 Williams, A., Byrd, T., Sublett, J., & Jungklas, R. (2020, June 1). Quaran-Teens 2020: Quarantined bodies: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Anthrodendum. https://anthrodendum.org/2020/06/01/quaranteens-2020-quarantined-bodies-maintaining-a-healthy-lifestyle Yep, G. A. (2004). Approaches to cultural identity: Personal notes from an auto-ethnographical journey. In M. Fong & R. Chaung (Eds.), Communicating ethnic & cultural identities (pp. 69–81). Rowman & Littlefield.

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ADDITIONAL READING Brett, L. (2015). Rhetorical autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, 5(1), 1–20. https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/278683032_Rhetorical_Autoethnography Herrmann, A., & Adams, T. (2020). Expanding our autoethnographic future. Journal of Autoethnography, 1(1), 1–8. doi:10.1525/joae.2021.2.1.1 Lapadat, J. (2017). Ethics in Autoethnography and Collaborative Autoethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(8), 589–603. doi:10.1177/1077800417704462 O’Hara, S. (2018). Auto-ethnography: The science of writing your lived experience. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 11(4), 11–17. doi:10.1177/1937586718801425 PMID:30336695 Ortner, S. (2006). Anthropology and social theory: Culture, power, and the acting subject. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/9780822388456 Poulos, C. N. (2020). The peris land promises of auto-ethnography: Raising our voices in troubled times. Journal of Auto-ethnography, 1(2), 208–211. doi:10.1525/joae.2020.1.2.208 Vasconcelos, E. F. S. (2011). I can see you: An autoethnography of my teacher-student self. Qualitative Report, 16(2), 415–440. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol16/iss2/6

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Auto-Ethnography: A pedagogical writing strategy that helps students to share their stories with other audiences within and/or beyond the educational environment. COVID-19 Crisis: A global pandemic, spread during 2020, affected every aspect of human life including economics, education, and health, and caused social distancing and psychological problems. Digital Media: A technological environment that facilitates the use of digital tools platforms to share ideas and experiences, and to communicate with other persons, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Pedagogy: Is the process of teaching and learning by suing digital tools and technologies when there is a need to turn to digital schooling especially during crisis. Quaran-Teens: A concept that describes teenagers in quarantine in order to show their attitudes and behavior, which affect their psychological and educational status.

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Chapter 5

A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence Maria Dolores Ramírez-Verdugo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7156-2575 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain Eva Márquez Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT This chapter presents a sociocultural instructional model designed to raise L2 learners’ awareness to the vital importance of developing their critical thinking competence, especially in global crisis times. For this purpose, a pilot study was launched to explore English learners’ attitudinal factors based on their critical thinking responses to rhetoric passages with a high sociolinguistic content component. This study, part of a more extensive quasi-experimental UAM-TeLL project, was implemented in a high school of Cartagena with frst-year baccalaureate students. This educational approach’s structure allowed the researchers to measure the dynamic of participants’ feelings and refective attitudes. The study’s analytical instruments included three dimensions pre- and post- questionnaires, specifc tasks on judgment and inference, guided interviews, rubrics, and feld observation. This chapter reports on the initial qualitative fndings and confrm students’ engagement and awareness of their critical thinking skills.

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INTRODUCTION In a world surrounded by challenges and crises, as future citizens, learners need to foster and develop critical thinking, enabling them to act and contribute to society efficiently, showing commitment and respect for nature, equity, and justice. Globalization and the spread of new technologies as a powerful means of transmitting information make scholars question the term ‘information’ as an organized collection of data to allow comprehension and contribute to new knowledge. Reliable information lies in DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch005

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

an analytic reflection to have diverse alternatives, make decisions, and solve problems. Today, learners are overloaded with countless pieces of information that are not entirely reliable. It is not always straightforward for them to discern between trustworthy or biased information. This burden of information requires the capacity to evaluate amongst valid sources of information and seek evidence to draw reasonable conclusions and make fair judgments and decisions. Raising awareness of the importance of developing an analytic strategy to face this challenge is vital for young people. Aliakbari & Sadeghdaghighi (2011) assert that thinking critically needs to be developed as other processes of learning. An education of quality needs to endow learners with the intellectual tools to seize, catalogue and codify the amount of input received through mass media, social networks, news, and even populist movements that generate bias towards individual values to influence ideas and behaviors. On the grounds that learners must overcome the current or future crises, education is now, to a more considerable extent, the most effective instrument to struggle against falseness and inaccuracies. Information means knowledge and cognition within education, but this knowledge must be learned parallel to reflective, analytical, and critical concerns (Freire, 1990). Educational systems are then called for encompassing academic requirements, including critical thinking competence through pedagogical designs to engage learners to learn and work with motivation (Bowen, 2003). In this sense, a second language (L2) or foreign language (FL) learning context may be an excellent space to provide the opportunity to develop this competence. Learning an L2 implies multiple directionalities since the target language operates in diversified linguistic and sociocultural dimensions. In addition, literature in the L2 becomes a relevant source of intercultural competence and offers endless motivational resources that encourage students’ intellectual curiosity, personal accomplishment, or self-confidence. These factors help learners grow academically and personally, giving rise to a renewed learning context and a more optimal and pleasant place for apprentices and teachers (Fernández et al., 2012). This chapter presents a sociocultural instructional model (Polly et al., 2017) and the pedagogical activities designed and implemented to foster and encourage L2 learners’ critical thinking. This instructional model’s main aim was to enhance learners’ reflective and analytical attitudes, which become vital in times of crisis, enabling them to react to biased information and reduce their vulnerability. L2 active methodologies were applied to achieve this objective, by using literature and cinema to engage students’ inquisitiveness and challenge learners’ thinking skills. This study specifically sought to find a response to the following research questions: •

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• •

What goal orientations, strategies, and techniques serve to upgrade engagement towards critical thinking in Baccalaureate learners? Which strategies are the most highly regarded to develop critical thinking skills by Baccalaureate learners? How can teachers guide learners’ critical thinking within a sociocultural educational context?

The initial qualitative findings obtained in the action-research study are presented in this chapter as a guide for future research in sociolinguistic and cultural studies oriented to raise the quality of education.

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

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BACKGROUND Academic and personal knowledge has traditionally been regarded as a means of quality and progress in education. Nevertheless, the mere accumulation of knowledge does not prepare students to apply that information efficiently or solve the paradigms understood as the foundation of education (Becerra & Moya, 2010). In addition to knowledge transfer, an educational practice should also understand our world and society by developing critical consciousness and competence. However, criticism per se would not be sufficient for societies to advance in knowledge and social justice, as argued by Freire (1990). Instead, human beings must build the necessary conditions to reach a critical awareness leading to transformation processes that search for collective interests supported by individual behavior. In a similar line, Becerra & Moya (2010) emphasize the importance of entwining education and research, which turns into a reflective instrument that should improve their educational practice. That interconnection should build reflective knowledge within research processes to help develop critical thinking skills. Therefore, implementing this approach should raise learners’ critical awareness to overcome global crises and face challenges. In this sense, academic knowledge and education should no longer be a cluster of information but should be firmly bound to reflective development and reinforcement, becoming a vehicle to reach critical thinking abilities. With these tenets, education’s objectives focus on increasing educators’ and apprentices’ participation to build a fairer citizenry committed to developing women and men as social beings (Freire, 1990; Becerra & Moya, 2010). In this framework, the use of literature, including narrative fiction, novels, poetry, short stories, or even fairy tales, provides educators with the opportunity to examine an extensive number of literary works and resources to design appealing materials for students. Literature, defined in the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest,” helps bring the world into the classroom. More specifically, classical literature allows teachers to scaffold knowledge using adapted excerpts, chapters, characters, pictures, and film versions as a basis to draw proposals encouraging motivation and participation (Ramírez-Verdugo & Sotomayor, 2012; Ramírez-Verdugo, 2013; Sotomayor, 2013). This knowledge facilitates the design and implementation of reflective and analytical activities that help learners discern between biased or reliable sources of information and develop thorough strategies to make self-regulating judgments. In this context of L2 learning, English as a global or an international language becomes a source and channel for world information, and intercultural communicative competence in the 21st century. Yang and Gamble (2013) emphasize this nature of the L2, suggesting that “English language learning classrooms may be an ideal environment for critical thinking development.” (p. 398). Hence, effective critical thinking instruction within the L2 classroom can be essential to achieve crucial core curriculum objectives. Therefore, the initial goal of this study is to enhance Baccalaureate learners’ reflective and analytical attitudes, rising their awareness towards the knowledge and critical thinking relationship. Through collaborative and dynamic work, learners are able to acquire linguistic, communicative, and sociocultural learning capabilities in the L2. A study of syllabus design and curricula across different countries indicates that L2 learning should allow students to combine knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop academic and personal growth for enduring lifelong learning. Through different socio-language reflective skills, acquiring knowledge should involve reflection, analysis, and critical attitudes to develop a complete and inclusive critical consciousness to make individual decisions, whether personal or professional, to overcome crises, such as the current one. In terms of the curriculum, these attitudes are called 81

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

competencies and they are focused on behavior, understanding, and perception of the world to inspire social, motivated, and critical thinking citizens. To achieve these fundamental educational goals, critical thinking must be understood as a real competence that enables one to face personal and social challenges from a global crisis. The next goal is to provide students with the essential instruments and resources to help them interpret and react to biased information that might lead them to make inaccurate inferences or decisions. Lastly, the final goal of this study is to raise awareness among educators on the importance of guiding learners to reflective and analytical attitudes within a socio-cultural context.

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ENHANCING CRITICAL THINKING Enhancing critical thinking in the curriculum has progressively increased its relevance from the 20th century to the present. A growing number of studies are devoted to measuring critical thinking to design suitable methodologies to unfold the learners’ necessary analytical and reflective abilities. Kember et al. (2000) presented a survey to validate reliable instruments to measure students’ critical thinking and examine the extent to which students were engaged in critical thinking skills. The study focused on a questionnaire that tested four constructs: habitual actions, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection. Cronbach’s alpha validated the four constructs providing values from 0.621 to 0.757 for them. The structural analysis was based on the exploratory factor analysis that validated the four constructs’ questionnaire, meaning that the four dimensions formed a consistent hierarchy. The survey was validated for students from four health science disciplines. Cottrell (2005) presented a comprehensive didactic proposal shedding light on the construct of skepticism to make informed decisions through reasoned evaluation. This approach was implemented and assessed by Aliakbari & Sadeghdaghighi (2011). In their survey, these researchers focused on testing students’ critical thinking, including variables of gender and field of study. Cottrell’s questionnaire was used as an instrument to provide comprehensive critical thinking skills scores from the evaluation. T-test and One-Way ANOVA were used to determine the statistical differences between genders and the field of study on critical thinking abilities. The study concluded that students were not familiarized with critical thinking skills as they could not give satisfactory responses to the questionnaire. Concerning gender, males achieved better responses than females, obtaining a mean of 67.04, while females presented 61.02. A T-test revealed a value of .02, which means a statistically significant difference between both genders. ANOVA tests also determined a meaningful difference (.013) among students from the three different fields of study (humanity, engineering, and basic science), with engineering students obtaining a higher score. Choy & Oo (2012) addressed teachers’ crucial role in promoting or stimulating reflective thinking as a precursor of critical thinking. The instrument used in their study was a Likert-scale questionnaire consisting of 33 items structured in three levels of reflective analysis -introductory, intermediate, and advanced, that cover three dimensions: the ability of self-expression, the consciousness of evolution of lifelong learning, and self-evaluation regarding their own reflection. Their data analysis sheds light on the perception of teachers’ reflective action. The results showed that teachers, in general terms, were not critically reflective in their training practice. Instead, teachers were more focused on assessing students than on providing meaningful feedback. Sastoque et al. (2016) elaborated a study to explore the implication of problem-based learning on critical thinking with 15 to 18-year-old students using computing and technology. They used two quan82

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

titative instruments to measure students’ responses. Firstly, a questionnaire was structured to test three critical thinking dimensions (interpretation and analysis of information; judgment of a specific situation with objective and subjective data; and the inference of the consequences based on their auto-regulated judgment). These dimensions were associated with measuring tools to identify learners’ disposition and attitudes towards reflective skills. Secondly, a rubric was elaborated to assess the responses of an open-ended interview whose goal was to determine the students’ level of performance and their degree of analysis, evaluation, and auto-regulation. The data analysis revealed a significant change between pre-test and post-test. Therefore, the statistical analysis confirmed the initial hypothesis that the training through a didactic strategy supports, to a certain extent, the development of critical thinking competence. The next two studies focused their attention on pedagogical methods. They underline the importance of instructing EFL, exploring critical thinking skills to face global crises in current societies through sociolinguistics tools. In Yang & Gamble’s (2013) study, the experiment group was instructed to use critical thinking techniques and English proficiency activities through debates and peer critiques while the control group performed the same activities with no emphasis on critical thinking techniques. Statistics analysis proved that participants were engaged and improved on critical thinking skills through argumentation, recognition of bias, information evaluation, and selection of appropriate information. An analysis of covariance was used to identify differences between experimental and control groups related to English proficiency, whereas a rubric was used to measure critical thinking. The results reinforced the preliminary hypothesis that the experimental treatment improved critical thinking skills. DeWaelsche (2015) conducted a survey to foster critical thinking techniques through cooperative groups discussing different topics. One of the main goals of this research was to encourage participants to feel comfortable with a dynamic environment. Students were taught to develop their tasks following Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy procedure (Analyze, Evaluate, Create). A rubric was the instrument to measure data from the activities. Data results demonstrated students’ difficulty in tackling reflective activities due to their limited English level. Other students, however, showed engagement in thinking critically to improve their knowledge of the world. Kember et al. (2000), Aliakbari & Sadeghdaghighi (2011), Choy, & Oo (2012), and Sastoque et al. (2016) suggest that critical thinking skills are not entirely developed in education programs, despite the importance of this competence for the development of the individual and collective quality for life and more equitable society for the future. These critical thinking studies reveal that apprentices need to train analytical and reflective strategies for critical awareness, which comes to be decisive to run up against unfavorable global scenarios. This is the reason why critical thinking competence must be integrated as part of the curriculum as a centered-learning process, rather than just be a mere transmission of knowledge in either compulsory or tertiary education. It is essential then to create a synergy of efforts amongst the educative community. This collaboration should contribute and optimize the impact of pedagogical proposals aimed at improving learners’ reflective attitudes. Finally, recent approaches also include references to the importance of paying attention to foreign language learning to develop critical thinking skills. Foreign language teaching should foster this competency’s mastery through an integrated language skills approach and a transversal perspective, including global thematic tasks and projects in its syllabus.

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A Sociocultural Instructional Model on Critical Thinking Taking these arguments into account, this section presents the innovative instructional model on critical thinking designed and implemented with a group of 15-year-old baccalaureate students in the subject of English as a foreign language (EFL). This model is based on the analytic use of classic and modern literature to foster critical thinking and motivation in L2 learning, taking advantage of digital platforms commonly used by teenagers. This pedagogical model focuses on three dimensions: (1) Development of an appropriate sociocultural competence, encouraging a positive attitude towards knowledge and learning. (2) Research instruments to evaluate analytical and reflective skills and to measure critical thinking skills. (3) Learners’ and educators’ role in fostering critical thinking ability in cognition and motivation.

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ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES, PROBLEMS The extensive access to thousands of information sources is undoubtedly an advantage in terms of democratic access to knowledge, information, and experiences. However, this positive asset can become a negative influence when citizens, or learners in this study, cannot discriminate between real and fake information and are led to make wrong decisions. In this sense, young people could be regarded as part of a vulnerable population due to their lack of experience and maturity, which may alter their perception to seize reality and make sensible decisions based on evidence and factual knowledge. Therefore, guiding young people to recognize biased information in news, advertising, social networks, influencers, or online challenges becomes crucial, especially in times of crisis when the dissemination of knowledge may be affected by demagogic voices. This specific instruction may have a purposeful impact on learners’ minds, affecting their current and future decisions. This intentioned influence will help determine their attitude, behavior, beliefs and opinions in one or another direction in a decisive phase of identity consolidation as it is adolescence. In this sense, adolescents’ identity formation needs to be developed across distinct life domains, but these heterogeneous identity models might also become a source of confusion. Experience represents a great deal of the process of identity construction. However, it demands some efficient training in exploring alternatives to make decisions when facing challenges (Becht et al., 2016). The present study highlights the importance of understanding the relevance and urgency of applying curriculum guidelines to instruct learners to face critically new future crises and challenges. Schools should provide learners with instruments to develop critical thinking attitudes. That training should help students tackle difficulties such as school failure, self-esteem, self-confidence, health, identity problems, bullying, gender-bias or racial issues.

RESEARCH METHOD This chapter describes the instructional model applied that explores English learners’ critical thinking capability and their response to a specific pedagogical proposal. This model was designed to enhance students’ critical thinking in the first year of Baccalaureate in Cartagena, a small city in the South-East 84

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

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of Spain. This study is framed into a broader sociolinguistic quasi-experimental research project within the scope of the UAM-TeLL research group (Technology Enhanced Content and Language Integrated Learning in Bilingual Education and Intercultural Settings) and the Doctoral Program in Education at Madrid Autonomous University (UAM). The present survey selectively gathers quantitative and qualitative data, combining a mixed method to reinforce the results’ analysis. Hence, the study gains in quality and accuracy, providing a broader comprehension of data analysis. This survey is expected to have both paradigms given the nature of the study. On the one hand, learners’ critical thinking was assessed quantitatively through a pre-post-test questionnaire survey, complemented with a qualitative approach. It was based on observations and field notes during the instructional model implementation phase, a specifically designed rubric to gauge students’ critical thinking competence, and guided interviews based on open-ended questions. Mixed-methods become thorough insights since the quantitative approach cannot encompass the whole spectrum of a difficult-to-measure abstract concept, such as critical thinking. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods emerge as complementary techniques that benefit each other in terms of rigorousness and accuracy (Creswell, 2014; Lamb, 2009). Therefore, the present research design is based on Creswell’s sequential triangulation strategy, which collects quantitative and qualitative data concurrently to compare data collection. Apart from framing the research paradigm, this survey came up against significant obstacles to test its pedagogical model at schools. Some headteachers and teachers showed initial reluctance to join a study that would modify their school programs and schedule. Hence, finding schools determined to collaborate with the study was a difficult task. One of the main constraints that research finds when confronting quasi-experimental research is the sample size. One could think that if the number of participants is not large enough, the measure could not be accurate. Nevertheless, although lab-based experiments’ results cannot be generalized outside the sample, they are adequate to test participants’ in-depth perceptive thoughts (Creswell, 2014). This research highlights the necessity of equipping secondary school students with useful tools that enhance critical thinking skills. The survey contemplates using close and appealing materials to awaken learners’ interest in reflective and critical attitudes. In this case, literature combined with cinema in the L2 has been the object of interest, although this innovative proposal might be approachable to other disciplines. This study suggests that this innovative education research must be considered in depth to accomplish the generalized transformations mentioned in section two. The synthesis resulting from the knowledge and critical thinking should prompt learners to dynamic learning and reflective thinking. Likewise, this account will lead to a significant interest in the evolution of academic results too. Conversely, individual concerns regarding the understanding of the world will engage critical thinking and provide thinking enjoyment.

Participants The participants in this study were twenty-six (N=26) 15- to- 17-year-old students enrolled in the first course of a two-year program called “Research Baccalaureate” (equivalent to year 11th in the U.S. educational system). This program is included within the Decree 221/2015 of September 2nd, which regulates the curriculum for Secondary Education at the Autonomous Community of Murcia (Spain). The program aims to train students in developing, presenting, and arguing reasoned research projects. Besides, it promotes autonomous learning and teamwork studying a specific subject related to research 85

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

methods. Students were not randomly selected as they were already grouped in an EFL classroom in the subject of English. Regarding gender, one-half of the students were male, while the other half were female. There were no students with special needs in an inclusive education program. The students’ level of English was relatively lower than in English-Spanish bilingual education groups. Yet, their prior written and spoken tests proved that the participants’ level (ranging from B1+ to B2, CEF) was assumed to be sufficient to participate in this study. Ethical research principles to work with students at schools were applied. School headteacher, teachers, students, and parents or legal tutors were informed and signed their participation consent. The consent form, validated by the UAM-Ethical Research Committee, guaranteed confidentiality, anonymity, nontraceability in the research; sensibility of the questions; rigorousness, and fairness (Cohen et al., 2013). Throughout the survey, the English teacher and the researcher were always monitoring the pedagogical instructional model’s implementation and progress. The English group’s teacher was observant of the research process. Her field observations and feedback were gathered in an open-ended questionnaire and a subsequent interview as part of the research data collection. The researcher assumed the teacher’s role since she was in charge of implementing the activities and tasks designed and gathering participants’ information. This involvement is eventually crucial in the foreign language class to collect qualitative data through perception. Even though this kind of study is more common in L1 research, perceptual processes need to be encouraged in L2 learning environments to collect a more exhaustive analysis (Van Lier, 2004).

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Implementing the Sociocultural Instructional Model To analyze the effect of the instructional model designed, a pre-post questionnaire action research pattern was applied. Students completed a questionnaire and responded to open-ended interviews after the specific instruction on critical thinking. The study was implemented in the subject of English and consisted of five 55-minutes sessions. Finally, a 45-minute session was devoted to the teacher’s interview, and two 55-minute sessions were devoted to the students’ interviews. These seven interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed as part of the research data gathered. The innovative methodology consisted of five sessions entailing a series of instructions and tasks based on George Orwell’s book, 1984, the film ‘The Hunger Games’, and the Netflix documentary ‘The Great Hack.’ The instructional design aimed to boost learners’ interpretation, reasoning, analysis, assessment, and inference through reading, research, contextualization, the association of words and ideas, group discussion, and making decisions and production (Facione, 1990). The didactic sequence was adapted from Cottrell’s method (Cottrell, 2017) in which learners follow a meaningful and coherent procedure. The researcher designed relevant and appropriate tasks and organized them into different phases to develop the project (Sastoque et al., 2016). The sessions were designed to increase complexity to ensure the gradual assimilation of the complex process of critical thinking displayed in the current theoretical framework. Session 1 was devoted to contextualizing the topic of Orwell’s novel, 1984, and the author’s background. As far as critical thinking is concerned, contextualization implies developing sociocultural competence, and it determines understanding, perception, and behavior to develop an ongoing learning process and the growth of students’ sociocultural awareness (Coyle, 2007). Cultural understanding entails critical thinking by making judgments based on ethical values and tolerance. It contributes to the fair-minded 86

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

analysis, knowledge, and acceptance of different identities, which is related to Facione’s (1990) statements concerning social justice, ethical values, democratic societies, social behaviorism, and empathetic relationship (Fakunle et al., 2016; Inglés et al., 2013). A digital presentation supported the contextualization of Orwell’s 1984, helping students understand and classify ideas and thoughts along with the researcher and teacher’s guidance, such as first notions, positions, agreements, disagreements, and arguments with examples of keywords and ideas. Orwell’s 1984 was contextualized with a video that summarized the novel and referred to the author and time when it was written. Therefore, students learned about the crucial aspects of Orwell’s life. Some key concepts included in the novel, such as utopia and dystopia, surveillance, freedom, censorship, and totalitarianism, were defined using the Oxford dictionary and discussed with the whole group to ensure that learners had assimilated their meaning. Saadé and Thomas (2012) claim that group discussion involves learners and teachers as a community forming an ecosystem (Ecolinguistics) in which all the learners depend on each other. Hence, critical thinking was boosted by conceptualizing, applying previous knowledge, observation, reflection, reasoning, and communication. After inquiring about these terms, the following step was to introduce the idea of Orwell’s ‘double thinking’ with the assistance of an explanatory video. Once this expression was comprehended, participants had to apply this concept to modern society and establish similitudes. This task’s objective was to reinforce argumentation to strengthen their statements when attacked or needed to defend engaging, dynamic communication, skepticism, and looking for evidence (Bean, 2011). Session 2 was devoted to the association of words and ideas. This task aims to recognize arguments and hidden assumptions, leading to errors in understanding and misinterpretations (Cottrell, 2017). Hence the concept of skepticism comes to play, providing individuals with suitable strategies not to believe everything read, seen, or heard (Facione, 1990). This strategy avoids misunderstandings and assumes appropriate inferences applying analytical thinking based on evidence and process evaluation. The material used to introduce this activity was a video film to help interpret individual perception of reality and foster critical thinking. Diverse perceptions gave rise to different interpretations of facts and ideas, so inference by selecting criteria became decisive. This idea is also connected to individuality and subjectivity (Pring, 2015). The chosen video was an excerpt of the Hunger Games film, where recognizable arguments were implicit as bodies of belief or ideologies that might not be wholly accepted in a determined society or culture. This video prompted a group discussion that, in turn, brought about the inference of the topics dealt with in the film fragment through the association of ideas. Some of these topics were lack of freedom, poverty, and the struggle to survive or differentiate among social classes. Then, activity 1 consisted of associating ideas and keywords provided in a table. In pairs, students had to establish an association between keywords and concepts. Additionally, participants had to look for an instance in the fragment associated with that idea or concept. This assignment enabled learners to conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, reflect, reason, solve problems and, therefore, make agreements with partners to carry out the task (Cottrell, 2017; Saadé & Thomas, 2012). Such critical thinking characteristics enable informed decision-making for academic purposes and real-life problems; they also contribute to reasoning positive outcomes and dynamic communication (Butler, 2012). In session 3, students read chapter 1 of the graded readers 1984 in pairs. The researcher and the teacher guided the reading to help the participants understand it. Analysis, evaluation, and inference processes focused on this activity to promote ‘reading to learn’ and ‘reading between the lines’ competencies. 87

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

Learners were prone to accept personal points of view from partners, but they needed to distinguish between personal opinions and logical reasons based on pieces of evidence because critical thinking is inclined to be affected by beliefs and experiences. This process comprised monitoring one’s comprehension evolution since learners had to face problem-solving situations, investigation, creativeness, team-building ability, and work cooperation (Saadé & Thomas, 2012). The assignment consisted of activities 2 and 3. Firstly, a sheet with open questions was given to the participants. It was related to learners’ perceptions about the excerpt. Secondly, participants had to fill in a table associating situations from the chapter to the current society. Both activities were adapted from the New York Times blog ‘The Learning Network. Teaching and Learning with the New York Times’ (Brown & Epstein, 2010). Bland (2003) reports that literary analysis helps accentuate learners’ autonomy, motivation, and foreign language acquisition. The literary analysis may also become a creative resource in the EFL. Critical thinking in this session was enhanced by guiding students to identify the main arguments and recognize the authors’ reasoning and evidence supporting such arguments. The strategies that participants needed to achieve this purpose were: to select critical information, contrast the information, and comprehend pieces of information (Cottrell, 2017). Likewise, González (2015) highlights that reading comprehension encompasses an integrated and multisensory learning approach to develop motivating tasks along with creative and analytical thinking. Besides, literature helps to recognize behavior and emotion patterns in its stories through plots, characters, or relationships, so that it helps to familiarize readers with other cultures. In this case, critical thinking was reinforced by connecting personal experiences and reading contexts. Holdren (2012) and Kidd & Castono (2013) declare that connecting texts to their own emotions and feelings activate students’ new ways of approaching life situations through analysis and reflection. Students practiced strategies such as reasoning, recognizing, and evaluating different alternatives before answering the questions. Session 4 was devoted to bolster students’ reasoning skills since critical thinking has been defined previously as an instruction to transfer cognition and reflection abilities to real-world situations—this strategy helps students make reasoned and thorough judgments (Butler, 2012). Thus, critical thinking is needed to justify outcomes by selecting wise criteria when making judgments, fair-minded evaluation, and inquiring (Ku et al., 2019; Raymond et al., 2018). Using reasoning leads to argumentation to support positions or points of view, recognizing arguments to clarify ideas and concepts. In other words, arguments need to be supported by reasoning (Cottrell, 2017). Participants watched the Netflix trailer, The Great Hack, a documentary dealing with technology surveillance and private information revelation to adjust social networks advertising to manipulate voting during political campaigns. After viewing the trailer, a further discussion was carried out regarding what extend people are being watched by social networks, computer cameras, or smartphones. Students developed and supported their arguments, answering a series of open questions in activity 4, again adapted from The New York Times blog. This session ended up with a homework task for students. They were asked to investigate George Orwell’s life at home. Students had to search for fundamental aspects of his life to answer, reason, and justify their responses, a key question for the following session: Why do you think George Orwell wrote this novel? Students’ research is proved to engage in inquisitiveness. In other words, the necessity of cognition to conceptualize and understand the world, systematicity, and analyticity is necessarily associated with decision-making and problem-solving (Butler, 2012; Ku & Ho, 2010). Additionally, it challenges learners to use suitable strategies to enhance their inference skills, and it helps to contextualize and avoid misunderstanding (Facione, 1990). 88

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

Session 5 was programmed for participants to produce an essay (activity 5): answering the following question: How would Orwell’s novel be today? Write a story with your ending (showing your interpretation of the novel) (Brown & Epstein, 2010). Before the writing production, students engaged in a group discussion concerning the gathered information about George Orwell’s life. The essay was an individual task that involved an evaluation process, including critical thinking validity and monitoring one’s own evolution. Critical thinking validity consists of a combination of strategies of cognitive factors to assess the questions thoroughly. Learner’s inferences need to be strong based on trustful reasons to tackle inquisitiveness and face personal biases (Facione, 1990). Otherwise, monitoring their own critical thinking evolution comprises reflection in their learning to construct mental information to understand the information’s nature and avoid misconceptions (Saadé and Thomas, 2012).

Research Instruments and Data Collection The study research design includes quantitative and qualitative instruments to gather data on the innovative methodology applied to enhance critical thinking in the English classroom. The quantitative instruments involved using a rubric created to collect data on the different worksheets and pre-post-questionnaires. The questionnaires consisted of twenty-four items on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5) in the questionnaire choices. There were three main guiding themes included in the dimensions of critical thinking: (1) Interpretation and analysis of information, (2) Judgment based on objective/subjective data, and (3) Inference from self-regulating judgment (see Table 1). Table 1. The Dimensions of Critical Thinking           Interpretation and analysis of information

          Items 1 to 6

          Judgment based on objective/subjective data

          Items 7 to 16

          Inference from self-regulating judgment

          Items 16 to 24

Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to mention the difficulty of finding a quantitative instrument that measures critical thinking constructively. This study’s design had no minor hardships to draw a questionnaire that answered how participants perceived critical thinking. The design of the questionnaire took as a reference to Martinez’s text classification criteria (Martínez, 2005):

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• • • •

Method. This research uses psychometric tests to assess quantitative responses, valuing numerically, and independently the elements and projective tests to evaluate general qualitative aspects of constructs and personality. Purpose. The study uses an investigation test as the resulted measures come from diferent individual analyses, statistical calculations, or confrmation or refutation of the hypothesis. Research questions. The survey carries on a maxim execution test since the subjects must solve a situation using their higher thinking capacity. Scope. The study follows a test of intelligence and aptitude as it is referred to the psychological factors of cognitive nature, such as critical thinking.

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

• • • •

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•

Application. The test is presented to ensure that the subjects respond to the questions, following specifc instructions, with protocols and answer sheets. Demands are needed from the subject. The test is of power or difculty since although the subject has a controlled time, it is not relevant for the result itself. The subjects’ cultural background and circumstances. The test is necessarily adapted to the sociocultural setting of the subjects and classifed according to their age. Statistic model in which it is based. The questionnaire’s design was based on the Classical Theory of Test and the Multiple Linear Regression Method, the Item Response Theory, and the Linear Method of Experimental Design. Conceptual model. The test is framed within the Criterion-Referenced Tests to know whether the subject masters the predetermined abilities or knowledge related to critical thinking.

The questionnaire, considering these text classification criteria, was adapted and extended from a study on critical thinking with secondary school students in the subject of chemistry (Villalobos et al., 2016). Their survey was based on a mixed-method within quasi-experimental research whose research instruments were a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The resulting 24 items included in the questionnaire (Appendix 1) were classified into the three dimensions mentioned above. Reliability analysis was performed for each of the 24 questionnaire items. Cronbach’s alpha values were all high, around, or above .82, consequently validating the questionnaire’s internal consistency. Cohen et al. (2013) sustain that the qualitative paradigm provides us with collect responses based on honesty, depth, richness, and disinterestedness through meaning, interpretation, or intentions in participants’ responses to explain the researched phenomena. However, close attention must be paid to plausibility and credibility. Thus, these features provide internal validity in a qualitative approach. The qualitative instruments set to measure critical thinking were three: (1) participant and constant observation; (2) a rubric, analyzing apprentices’ critical thinking analysis, judgment, and inference in the activities; (3) and semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to some random subjects and the teacher related to particular considerations of the process. Observation focused on the participants’ opinions and perceptions during the entire research process. This analysis provided a verbal description of the experiment, which was extremely valuable and complementary to the quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis was based on the Grounded Theory. This approach entails an open-minded researcher willing to be an ongoing and thorough observer and inclined to hear any participant’s reaction and appreciation. This method is called a cyclic theory as collected data, analysis, and reflections are frequently in the process (Morse et al., 2016). The written material created by participants consisted of a series of questions for problem resolution. Data collected from this performance were analyzed using a rubric adapted from Mutakinati et al. (2018) to measure critical thinking. This rubric measured each critical thinking activity response based on the three dimensions depicted previously. Eventually, open-ended questions were considered appropriate for the small-scale research and allowed the respondent to weigh the answer (Martínez, 2005). The researcher conducted these interviews, and they were efficiently applicable to shed light on the experiential investigation. The aim of interviewing students and the teacher was to deem them in a research community. This situation was considered an essential condition to measure critical thinking behavior and attitude. The interview design bore in mind the sub-competences of critical thinking from Facione’s theory (2011),

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

which addressed a representative sample of the overall population of ten students selected through a random draw. The interview consisted of the first eight short questions extended according to the participant’s response. Their answers gave rise to more extended questions that assessed their behaviors on sensitive topics. Questions, to ensure comprehension, contained familiar words, were accompanied by spoken vignettes, and non-verbal communication with special care of not misleading the interviewee (Cohen et al., 2013).

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Data Analysis, Results, and Discussion This study specifically sought to respond to the research questions formulated: (1) What goal orientations, strategies, and techniques serve to upgrade critical thinking engagement in Baccalaureate learners? (2) Which strategies are the most highly regarded to develop their critical thinking skills by Baccalaureate learners? (3) How can teachers guide learners’ critical thinking within a sociocultural educational context? This initial outcome is divided into three sections: (1) results from the questionnaires; (2) students’ rubric responses; and (3) results from participant observations and open-ended interview questions. This chapter reports on some qualitative results that can already be inferred from the data analyzed. Participants answered a battery of questions regarding interpretation of information, judgment, critical thinking inferences, and students’ goal orientations and critical thinking attitudes to appreciate whether the instructional model design had some significant impact on them. The interpretative approach was analyzed to evaluate qualitatively critical thinking abilities implied in the research. The results from the rubric, observation, and open-ended questions provided an overview of participants’ experiences during the study. Students’ rubric responses assessed to what extent students developed critical thinking attitudes. Regarding the study’s three dimensions, it can be asserted that participants initiated critical thinking skills. Dimension 2 resulted in being the most extensive and developed attitude amongst learners. The results showed that many students already had some explanation, comparison, and judgment capacities; indeed, it is the most pondered dimension in each activity. The results of Dimension 1 and Dimension 3 revealed more dispersed data than Dimension 2. Participants showed more difficulties associated with the interpretation and analysis of information to process and organize information and produce inferences. They needed additional and in-depth explanations for critical thinking interpretations and productions when required to present the tasks. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that activities 1 and 3, both associations of ideas, resulted considerably appealing to learners. Although the realization of those tasks required a remarkable effort, students showed concentration and interest in carrying out the assignments. Indeed, although the class time was over, they wanted to finish the activity, and they remained at their desks until they completed it. This attitude was a clear indicator of students’ engagement and confirmed the positiveness with regards to the motivation of the instructional model applied. In this study, the findings obtained from participants’ observation notes are essential to understand their perceptions and attitudes to obtain an in-depth analysis (Van Lier, 2004; Saadé & Thomas, 2012). In the present study, the group was treated as an ecosystem to enrich every learners’ contribution. The results confirm that one of the research goals was achieved: engage students to conceptualize, apply cognition, listen to their classmates’ considerations, reasoning, and reflection. In such a short period,

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 A Sociocultural Study on English Learners’ Critical Thinking Skills and Competence

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students demonstrated to be able to develop curiosity and willingness to learn. They confirmed that they were interested in the topic and participated in the activity’s discussion of reflective strategies. The analysis of the interviews shed light on students’ perception of the sessions. Most of them expressed that either the methodology used or the topics dealt with during the study made them reflect on issues that, although not entirely unfamiliar, had not been considered before as topics of their interest. They became aware that critical thinking is an ability that might be enhanced in any environment or subject since they only had associated critical thinking with the field of philosophy previously. Whereas at the beginning of the project, they could only advance a vague explanation of critical thinking, at the end of the sessions, they provided more detailed definitions of critical thinking, even with examples of its features. All of them agreed on the importance of training reflective competence since it is necessary to evaluate more diverse data and accept different points of view to elaborate conclusions. Likewise, they were able to associate this ability with individuals and assessments and inferences. The outcome from the teacher’s interview revealed some fundamental aspects of the model implementation. She concurred with the appropriateness of teaching English along with critical thinking abilities as an educational model. From her perspective, presenting topics connected to current society growth is essential to recognize biased statements due to the significant amount of information young people receive. Debates, speeches, or overall communication processed in educational environments help young people realize angles not appreciated previously. To be skeptical about different sources of information will avoid mind manipulation. The teacher also emphasized the direct relevance of using L2 learning orientations and strategies in the classroom to carry out this model of critical thinking training. Learners were able to identify arguments, reasons, issued value judgments, and showed different points of view. She considered that critical thinking is occasionally inferred in philosophy and history subjects, but it is not usually trained in the L2 classroom. Therefore, she regarded this innovative approach as a positive and valuable instructional L2 method. Additionally, the teacher pointed out a drawback of the short period available for this pedagogical training. Learning in-depth critical thinking strategies needs more comprehensive guidance. An example of this is the students’ responses to activity 5. They found them extremely difficult to tackle; nevertheless, they declared that the writing production problem was ‘to think about it in Spanish,’ which discloses that reflection skills are essential for personal and academic growth. Participants’ level of English was also an issue during the whole training sessions. Although the five sessions were instructed in L2, there were some moments in which explanations in learners’ L1, Spanish, in this case, should be done. The teacher deemed vital importance of the constant use through L2 use, which led to reckon that a specific English level is indispensable to developing this instructional model. Their lack of L2 linguistic self-assurance reduced their participation and interaction in class as a whole group. However, they felt breezier and more talkative, answering individual interviews.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS This chapter has presented a sociocultural instructional model designed and applied to raise L2 learners’ awareness of the vital importance of developing their critical thinking competence, particularly in global crisis times, through argumentation, recognition of bias, information evaluation, and selection of appropriate evidence. For this purpose, a pilot study was launched to explore English learners’ attitudinal factors based on learners’ critical thinking responses to rhetoric passages with a high sociolinguistic 92

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content component. This action research study aimed to explore L2 learners’ critical thinking perceptions before and after implementing the pedagogical model intended to enhance learners’ reflective attitudes. Its thematic field focused on current social challenges to better educate and prepare responsible and well-informed future citizens at both academic and personal levels (Ramírez-Verdugo & García, 2018; Ramírez-Verdugo, 2020). The meaning of information was redefined as a source of academic knowledge, a channel that needs to be questioned in the 21st century. By extension, academic knowledge implies reflection, analysis, and criticism to avoid misconceptions and biases. These conceptual dimensions were included in the pedagogical proposal designed based on the book 1984 to verify whether the effect/ impact on L2 learners was significant. After having validated that literature in L2 learning emerges as a powerful device to reach transformation processes within educational environments, learning through selected L2 literary texts may help construct concrete ideas, reflective reactions, and critical attitudes towards universal topics and issues. This study uncovers a flaw of educational systems: learners are not trained to face the worldwide crisis related to economic, health, or sociocultural challenges, which might be conceptualized through the world’s literature. This empowers learners’ autonomy and independence as well as equips them with strategies to overcome social and environmental challenges and forthcoming crises. After comparing the survey results with similar prior studies, the findings indicate that methodologies that enhance critical thinking attitudes are relevant and should be used in class for the students’ critical consciousness. Qualitative data analysis indicates an initial shift in students’ critical thinking strategies after the training and a relative progression in the three dimensions. While learners can interpret information and judgment, the results highlight that critical inference represents a challenge. Therefore, the initial qualitative outcome confirms the positive effect of raising students’ awareness of their critical thinking skills. The gained competence targets to reinforce learners’ engagement and intellectual curiosity, concerns, and skepticism. These skills are essential in times of crisis to recognize biased information and select alternative sources of data to make appropriate decisions and act consequently. These findings coincide with previous studies (Kember et al., 2000; Aliakbari & Sadeghdaghighi, 2011; Choy & Oo, 2012; and Sastoque et al., 2016). Therefore, even though most of the school curricula include critical thinking competencies in their syllabi, there is no real pragmatic development for this classroom’s aptitude. Reflective and analytical inferences to assess academic and everyday issues, for instance, are not promoted. Apart from the stated implications for critical thinking pedagogy, this survey was not without its limitations. First, it should be borne in mind that the small sample size does not generalize for the students’ population. Second, responses could be affected by the observation procedure itself, which might have conditioned participants’ responses. Third, for an in-depth analysis of reflective skills, an extended period for an extensive and thorough qualitative analysis is necessary. Finally, the sessions carried out in L2 constitute an additional difficulty for learners to express their critical opinions. Despite these limitations, the study’s findings are relevant and indicate an evident lack of criticism in educative contexts. It is necessary to articulate specific pedagogical strategies that tackle educational challenges to progress in critical thinking competence. This study reveals a shortage of criteria when critical thinking competence is applied at high schools. Future research may involve a larger population sample to increase its impact and correlation with other crucial factors. It may also include an extended English literature use in the classroom as valuable resources to develop reflection techniques and critical thinking competence. As discussed in prior

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studies, teachers and educators are crucial elements for successful progress and a sociocultural model of education, reflective and critical learners, and citizens. Future education research should be conducted to minimize the adverse sociocultural effects and global crisis on individuals to avoid social and economic discrimination and make citizens aware of a globalized world that aims to be equalitarian. Regarding future research, this approach needs to deepen in an aspect so crucial as students’ voices especially in times of global crises. A constructive relation among the actors participating in the teaching and learning process should be encouraged for a common goal. Students’ voices ought to be heard as a mechanism for reaching their concerns and as a way of feedback. Ultimately, the teacher’s role must be redefined, not only as a guide but also as an active, reflective researcher. Therefore, teacher training and education need to be reformulated to attend more efficiently current society’s challenges.

Declaration of Interest Statement The authors reported no potential conflict of interest.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT We are grateful to the headmaster of the school, the school staff, especially the English teacher, and the students who participated in this research. Without their support, this study would not have been possible. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Ramírez-Verdugo, M. D., & García de la Vega, A. (2018). A conceptual reference framework for sustainability education in multilingual and cross-cultural settings. Applied technology, transmedia and digital storytelling. In D. Tafazoli, M. E. Gómez Parra, & C. A. Huertas-Abril (Eds.), Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (pp. 222–236). IGI-Global Editions. doi:10.4018/978-15225-5463-9.ch013 Ramírez-Verdugo, M. D., & Sotomayor, M. V. (2012). El valor de una historia digital en el contexto europeo de aprendizaje integrado a través de lengua y contenido (CLIL). Digital Education Review Journal, 22, 52–67. Raymond, C., Profetto-McGrath, J., Myrick, F., & Strean, W. B. (2018). Nurse educators’ critical thinking: A mixed-methods exploration. Nurse Education Today, 66, 117–122. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2018.04.011 PMID:29702440 Saadé, R. G., Morin, D., & Thomas, J. D. (2012). Critical thinking in E-learning environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1608–1617. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.03.025 Sastoque, D. M., Ávila, J. E., & Olivares, S. L. (2016). Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas para la construcción de la competencia del Pensamiento Crítico. Voces y silencios. Revista Latinoamericana de Educación, 7(1), 148–172. Sotomayor, M. V. (2013). ¿Qué hacemos con los clásicos? Algunas reflexiones para los futuros docentes. Lenguaje y Textos, 38, 29–36. Van Lier, L. (2004). The semiotics and ecology of language learning. Utbildning & Demokrati, 13(3), 79–103. doi:10.1007/1-4020-7912-5 Villalobos Delgado, V., Ávila Palet, J. E., Olivares, O., & Lizett, S. (2016). Aprendizaje basado en problemas en química y el pensamiento crítico en secundaria. Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa, 21(69), 557–581. Yang, Y. T. C., & Gamble, J. (2013). Effective and practical critical thinking enhanced EFL instruction. ELT Journal, 67(4), 398–412. doi:10.1093/elt/cct038

ADDITIONAL READING

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Burbules, N. C., & Berk, R. (1999). Critical thinking and critical pedagogy: Relations, differences, and limits. Critical theories in education: Changing terrains of knowledge and politics, 45-65. Coyle, D. (2015). Strengthening integrated learning: Towards a new era for pluriliteracies and intercultural learning. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 8(2), 84–103. doi:10.5294/laclil.2015.8.2.2 Ennis, R. H. (2018). Critical thinking across the curriculum: A vision. Topoi, 37(1), 165–184. doi:10.100711245-016-9401-4

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Handayani, R. (2017). Students’ critical thinking skills in a classroom debate. LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 19(2), 132-140. Javed, M., Nawaz, M. A., & Qurat-Ul-Ain, A. (2015). Assessing postgraduate students’ critical thinking ability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 9(2), 19–26. Moseley, D., Elliott, J., Gregson, M., & Higgins, S. (2005). Thinking skills frameworks for use in education and training. British Educational Research Journal, 31(3), 367–390. doi:10.1080/01411920500082219 Salazar, J. (2002). From responsive reading to creative writing literature –a means to reflect on language and human values. Humanising Language Teaching, 4(4), 1–11. Ten Dam, G., & Volman, M. (2004). Critical thinking as a citizenship competence: Teaching strategies. Learning and Instruction, 14(4), 359–379. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2004.01.005 Vaseghi, R., Gholami, R., & Barjesteh, H. (2012). Critical thinking: An influential factor in developing English reading comprehension performance. Advances in Asian Social Science, 2(1), 401–410.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Competence: Aptitude or capacity to develop a task, activity, or project. Critical Consciousness: Capacity of formulating reasoning and responsible responses to issues or situations. Inference: Decision obtained from the reflection and examination of data. Inquisitiveness: The desire to learn or know something that is personally considered interesting. Judgment: Reasoning, thoughts and opinions related to some topic. Motivation: The stimulus or incentive created to satisfy a necessity or a want. Skepticism: Distrust or lack of confidence in the veracity of statements.

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APPENDIX 1 Table 2. Questionnaire items           Items

          Dimension

          Interpretation and analysis of information

Q7. I can explain what I have just read with my own words Q8. I can make precise comparisons among different arguments Q9. I use my common sense to evaluate the importance of the information Q10. I prefer basing my judgments on evidence to evaluate the importance of the information Q11. I provide innovative alternatives despite the responses of the others Q12. I know how to distinguish between real facts and preconceptions Q13. I establish similitudes and differences among statements or ideas Q14. I know what I am going to find when I look for a determined information Q15. When I read a book, I know how it is going to end before finishing it Q16. When I search the Internet, I look for reliable sources

          Judgment based on objective / subjective data

Q17. I can offer a solution although I do not have the whole information Q18. Despite the against arguments, I maintain my opinion Q19. I suggest different alternatives to those provided in books to solve problems Q20. I imagine the consequences of a decision before I make it Q21. I justify my opinion when I give my point of view Q22. I provide justified reasons when my point of view is different from the speaker Q23. I am able to change my point of view by listening to other different which justify better the situation Q24. I use critical thinking techniques to solve problems

          Inference from self-regulating judgment

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Q1. I feel self-auto-determination when I have to deal with a (very) complex situation Q2. I prefer applying a known method instead of risking of trying something new Q3. I can distinguish the main ideas and the secondary ones in a text Q4. I usually re-elaborate what I have just read with my own words Q5. I identify similitudes and differences between two points of views to solve a problem Q6. I follow a procedure to solve a problem

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Chapter 6

Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoglu Mediterranean (Akdeniz) University, Turkey

ABSTRACT The human experience in times of crisis is a determinative indicator for the future wellbeing of generations. The lack of empathy and inactive emotional intelligence through all forms of linguistic conduct cause miscommunication and misconduct, which severely underestimates the intellectual potential of human beings. In a world of diversity, emotional intelligence and empathic linguistic power are crucial indicators of civilization and enlightenment. Given a richer understanding of the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence from a sociolinguistic perspective, this study discusses the signifcance of including emotional intelligence and empathy in educational and intellectual programs. This study is the framework through which the empathic linguistic power within a society could be a determining power for crisis management and wellbeing at times of turmoil.

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INTRODUCTION Language has the power to shape and modify the way people think and perceive the world (DeFranza et al., 2020). Language indeed is far more influential and powerful when it is part of a social act. Depending on the context and variables of the era and time, language can be so powerful that it can transform society as well as it can carry the destructive power to even devastate society. If wrong words are chosen with an inconvenient style, the linguistic code in question could transmit a massive crisis message, which in return forms a domino effect by creating ill-formed chaos within society. “Crises as rhetorical constructs are specialized kinds of communication whereby urgency takes over routine and conventional processes (Kiewe, 2012, n.p.).” It is therefore critical to explore which variables activate empathic emotional intelligence, and how crises are handled among societies through linguistic power. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch006

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 Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis

Viewed from an epistemological perspective, empathy in psychoanalytic practice is described as that aspect of a specialized attentional stance that opens channels of interaction facilitating the formation of a trusting bond and enabling one to gain access to the emotional qualities of another’s experience (Aragno, 2008, p. 713). What’s even more striking, empathy is the only remedy that activates emotional intelligence for civilized societies, and societies that lack empathy and emotional intelligence invite crises for inevitable catastrophic futures. The presence of emotional intelligence in communication styles, and how this linguistic variable is valued in a society is the indicator of whether the individuals within that community show empathy towards each other. The state of self-consciousness about emotions, and the ability to control emotions are critical domains of emotional intelligence to be able to feel empathy (Faye et al., 2011). In the first place, it seems clear that there is a direct correlation between emphatic linguistic power and emotional intelligence and how societies handle crises (Swart et al., 2011). Therefore, this study proposes a framework through which the empathic linguistic power within a society could be a determining power for crisis management and wellbeing at times of turmoil.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH SOCIETIES?

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I’ve thought a lot about where we’re headed as a society. It seems things are getting worse in so many areas that I wonder whether civility can ever be regained. I’m using the word “civility” in a broad sense, not only to mean good manners, kindness and empathy but how we treat others in a variety of circumstances (Mintz,2020a, para. 1). Baboons are key to understand human evolution (Strum, 2012). Yet, it is not possible to understand why humans stopped evolving while Baboons evolved democratically without using a complex communication method, which is language. It may be the world’s most complicated question as to how baboons achieved to live in a more civilized society than humans when some geniuses among people invented “google” to find instant informative answers for all humanly questions. Within the context of emotional intelligence and empathy, baboons surprisingly have a system for shared decision-making without the privilege of the language people are using. What is far more interesting is that baboons never follow dominant characters, who unkindly dictate to them what to do in their tribes, and this means they have their own language for shunning bullies. In a baboon society, the dominant character who is good at finding resources and food, are often not the most popular figures, and the majority of baboons value kindness and respect when choosing a baboon leader, and they interestingly experience democracy when many communities of people lost their access to democratic privileges (Conradt & Roper, 2007). To illustrate, baboons are not male-dominant societies, where females are oppressed as the less valued secondary gender as it is still the case for human beings. In Baboon families, females can indeed be the head of the family, and they can even be political figures within the tribe to make critical decisions for the tribe’s well-being (Strandburg-Peshkin, 2015; Strum, 2012). Baboons live in this democratic surrounding with their rather limited intelligence and language whereas the unsolvable mystery of how humans are continuously deprived of their basic human rights in an undemocratic world remains the mystery of the artificial modern world.

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It is often believed that human beings are intellectually superior to all other species on Earth; however, there is something quite wrong with how the code of ethics is exercised among human beings with their higher intellect and communicative skills. In the baboon’s world, there is not a single baby baboon, who dies out of hunger when other baboons are using private jets to have some fresh air in the Maldives. It is also unheard of a single baboon, who wishes to wear a million-dollar worth watch and make a virtual story out of it for getting the most likes on a social media platform. It is not common for baboons to take pictures of their dinner, and tag the food they eat online through their social media accounts with a made-up word “delish” for the already existing adjective delicious underneath. The fact that a considerable number of humans need massive populist approval with strange behaviors of greediness for virtual fame may signify that there is a considerable amount of emotional intelligence deficit among societies. From another perspective, it seems doubtful that human beings are taking advantage of their full intellectual capacity when they fail to understand each other’s feelings without the essence of emotional intelligence in their communication styles. Unfortunately, a disturbing amount of time and energy is wasted in graceless social media postings since the same amount of energy could be used for the sake of other forms of intellectual writing and sharing practices in this information age. But, clearly the majority of the people prefer otherwise. Beyond question, people live in a world of crisis despite how fast people are provided access to information technologies, and the future of the world will continue to repeat the same historical chaos as a desperate pattern of unfortunate events due to lack of empathy and emotional intelligence. Providing social robots an internal model of emotions can help them guide their behavior in a more humane manner by simulating the ability to feel empathy towards others. Furthermore, the growing interest in creating robots that are capable of collaborating with other humans in team settings provides an opportunity to explore another side of human emotion, namely, group-based emotions (Correia et al., 2018, p. 261). Scientists claim that robots will take over most of the jobs that need human power and intellect in the near future, yet they cannot overcome a significant obstacle: Robots do not have emotional intelligence and empathy (Correia, 2018). What is striking, the educational systems do not necessarily focus on students’ emotional intelligence and empathic aptitude, and thereby educate masses of people without this critical skill (Gordon, 2003, Viguer et al., 2017). Until recently, the educational systems focused more on increasing the intelligence quotient (IQ), and created individuals with diplomas of high skilled problem-solving professionals, who could calculate, measure, and finish the job. Yet, the same individuals appeared to honk in the traffic without waiting in the stoplight for a few long seconds, push each other in a restaurant line to get a better table or steal each other’s parking space without shame. The list is surely longer with horrifying examples of offenses. It seems teaching the new generation to solve their own problems through activating their IQ is not enough, and people should also be aware of the anticipated problems that occur as a result of emotional intelligence deficit. Consequently, this study advises policymakers to redesign educational systems by activating students’ emotional intelligence through the best emphatic linguistic practices to avoid future crises.

THE ESSENCE OF LANGUAGE IN TIMES OF CRISIS Astonishingly, the wars and crises are still destroying human civilization in the modern 21st century. The infrastructure of a society and its future developments are often determined by that society’s history (Boschi et al., 2020). Despite the growing importance of the term globalism, the wars never ended 102

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in our world despite the fact how it has proven to devolve human civilization (Tracey, 2018). As long as human history is recorded, people continue to fight over racial and belief differences. At times when dissimilarities are rarely not a problem, authorities are good at inventing a conflict scenario for an excuse to take over resources of a far land (Zabeida, 2010). People consume, destroy and vandalize the world faster than ever now. Crises of Mother Earth, and the disasters that nature triggers are preventable up to a certain extent through precautions (Goniewicz et al., 2020; Lu et al., 2020). The unsettling fact is that the devastating cruelness and greed of human beings continue to create more wars and crises on our planet. The catastrophic effects of the past wars through witnessing how innocent civilians are victimized by poor judgments of inhumane commands did not teach our artificially modern and global planet a lesson (Zabedia, 2010). People not only have man-made borders on maps, but they were never able to get rid of the mental borders they created via prejudice and bias over their physical and cultural differences (McCallie, 2020). People ruthlessly continue to prefer creating more crises through fighting and wars and make the planet a chaotic place to live for the new generation. What’s worse, the future well-being of children is never on the top of the list of decision-makers across borders (Didace, 2020). Unfortunately, and quite interestingly, today’s knowledgeable thinkers, intellectuals, and scholars are not the real decision-makers for the planet’s critical decisions despite how they are proven to be the voice of scientific development (Washburn & Skitka, 2018). Scholars often investigate, present their data, discuss, explain yet there are still actual and symbolic monarchies for the final say of the critical decisions without democracy as if people are living in a fairy tale. The communication channels show scenes of continuous vulnerability, inequality, crises, and chaos. The underlying crucial message between the lines is how desperate human beings are each day (Tracey, 2018). Yet, policymakers often let people live in a world of illusion without an action plan for activating the emotional intelligence of people despite recurring crises (John, 2021). When the absence of empathy due to lack of emotional intelligence continues to threaten the wellbeing of the planet, the days indeed have come that people have to buy the most critical life essential, water, in plastic bottles, which will remain on the planet for another 450 years, if not recycled (Whiting, 2018). In some parts of the world, nature-friendly public transportation is underdeveloped, and in some others transportation with a car means risking your life as if you are riding a bumper car in a fair, where no one pays attention to the traffic rules because there are no set consequences (McIlroy, 2020). When a decent shelter need of human beings should not be this complicated in this information and technology age, banks claim that they are doing a favor to offer 30 years-long mortgages with high-interest rates (Muriel, 2020) when an average person can live up to 72.6 years on this planet (United Nations, 2019). Basically, people live in a world of greed as if they can live forever (DeVries, 2020). The advertisements often tell them an underlying psychological and linguistic message to consume it all, whether needed or not to be happier. Children are trained to grow up to be lifetime consumers since they are exposed to the language in the advertisements on all platforms from billboards to radios and televisions that give them the message of buying and consuming relentlessly as the only key for happiness (Pourmoradian et al., 2020). People get used to watching the news about actual cruel wars with empathy deficit (Lanzoni, 2018). The overexposure of this linguistic message is truly missing any empathy: Who cares for crises in remote lands? All of a sudden, an enemy appeared without discriminating on concepts such as race, culture, language, status, power, or wealth. This enemy kills any race of poor and rich, short or tall, beautiful or ugly, famous or introvert without bias. It kills them all in the same vicious yet invisible manner, and who are saved on what type of immunity is still a mystery. Now, all people are fighting with an extremely 103

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 Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis

dangerous enemy, yet they cannot even see it because it is an invisible virus to the naked eye! Without proper equipment and special expertise, people cannot see, touch, or hear the virus, but it is absolutely there to kill anyone. What’s more, people cannot even feel this invisible and destructive power until after the attack, which is often fatal. United Nations Secretary-General claimed on March 23rd, 2020 that people are finally in the same boat to fight against the same enemy with this historical, linguistic, and empathic message as follows: Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19. The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly. Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced — pay the highest price…(United Nations, para. 1) A brief but highly intellectual linguistic message is finally there to activate the emotional intelligence of the people. Ultimately, it was clear for millions of people around the world is that globalism does not mean taking a vacation to a foreign land, it is not dining in a restaurant with an eccentric foreignaccented menu of another sophisticated culture. Globalism, therefore, carries a much deeper meaning of a framework through which the policymakers should rather focus on overcoming disagreements through high levels of emotional intelligence and empathy before new crises appear. United Nations Secretary-General summarizes it all for the policymakers in this vital linguistic message: Activate the emotional intelligence of your communities, end wars of any type, and unite in peace to avoid future global crises together.

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THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN CRISIS TIMES The life routines, as the way most people experience it, have suddenly changed after the World Health Organization declared a deadly health crisis of COVID-19 on March, 11th 2020 (WHO, 2020). The spreading nature of this pandemic put a major number of at-risk chronic patients’ treatments on hold while the attempt was protecting them from COVID-19, and irreversible harm is reported by neglected patients (Huet et al., 2020; Mauro et al., 2020). Apart from the devastating deadly influence of the virus that caused mass populations of people to lose their lives, the COVID-19 crisis negatively affected people’s mental status by causing severe emotional turmoil. This infectious and fatal virus brought crisis-related stress of fear, anger, despair, anxiety, and depression while regulating emotions, monitoring stress-related feelings and mental stability became challenging for communities (Dai et al., 2020; Duan & Zhu, 2020; Huang & Zhao, 2020; Montemurro, 2020; Zhang et al., Moron & Moron, 2021). In a recent scientific study that investigated the correlation between emotional intelligence and experienced emotional experiences regarding personality and individual differences, people with higher emotional intelligence experienced less sadness, fear, anxiety, and anger during the COVID-19 (Moron & Moron, 2021). Furthermore, people with higher emotional intelligence are better at sharing their feelings while being able to adapt and regulate their emotions depending on their new adapted circumstances (Moron 104

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& Moron, 2021; Kong et al., 2019). Clearly, the presence of emotional intelligence is psychologically protecting human beings from trauma when there is already a crisis in place. Since COVID-19 is a health crisis, the main actors that people rely on for survival are physicians and health-care professionals. The critical impact of emotional intelligence and emphatic linguistic power is once again in the picture when people are desperate in hospitals for survival. To illustrate, communication abilities through the use of empathy are demanded skills for today’s physicians regardless of their credentials for patients’ satisfaction and well-being. Proactively, health institutions are conducting surveys with patients to explore the connection between empathy and emotional intelligence. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) highlights empathy as a mandatory skill for having the ability and capacity to treat patients, and emotional intelligence and empathy contribute to increasing the empathic ability of the medical students (Abe et al., 2018). Whether a patient or a healthcare professional, or in some cases both, people can adapt to new surroundings faster through empathy and emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence indeed protects people and smart species of the animal kingdom from hazardous consequences in crisis times (Brooks et al., 2020; Moron & Moron, 2021). In other words, the more one has emotional intelligence, the anticipated level of success from her gets higher, and this is a valuable finding for designing educational and intellectual programs. Emotional intelligence is a set of skills to understand, internalize, process and regulate emotions to be able to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. This means higher levels of emotional intelligence have many advantages in academic and social life. When the whole attention was formerly directed on the term “intelligence” academically, researchers discovered that there is not a single type of “intelligence” that is easy to define. The concept of emotional intelligence initially emerged concerning the concepts of intelligence and personality types as an educational and scientific terminology in the 1990s. Emotional intelligence was first described through four basic indicators. The first one is to receive an accurate message without misconduct precisely. Feeling empathy for other people’s emotions is connecting with them despite conflicts and disagreements, and such an approach filters negative communicative exchanges in advance. From another perspective, understanding one’s own feelings is the source to be able to regulate aggressive communicative styles that often cause unwanted and uncivil behaviors and violence among societies. The second one is the impact of emotions on decision-making activities. If a person’s emotional well-being is not taken into consideration, any decision would bring along dissatisfaction under the influence of confusion due to lack of emotional intelligence. Therefore, the effective use of emotions facilitates to take decisions with contentment and prevents feelings of regret and failure. The third one is understanding emotions, which indeed means sensing and respecting someone else’s feelings without having the actual experience itself. This third notion is the ability to have empathy for other new and unknown situations. The fourth one is to be able to regulate emotions, which is quite helpful in times of crisis when people need to stay away from constant stress and negative thoughts (MacCann et al., 2020; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Apart from the multiple intelligences concept, researchers associated emotional intelligence with emotion regulating aptitudes and behaviors that are shaped based on personality types, and motivational foundations (MacCann et al., 2020; Bar-On, 2006; Petrides et al., 2007). Through these emotion-based differentiated markers, emotional intelligence is an indicator of success and achievement in personal and social interactions with a higher level of happiness and contentment in the workplace (Amdurer et al., 2014; Coetzee & Harry, 2014; O’ Boyle et al., 2011; Sony & Mekoth, 2016; Joseph et. al., 2015). In parallel with this idea, students with higher levels of emotional intelligence are expected to perform better both socially and academically when faced with real-life problems (MacCann et al., 2019). But, 105

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more significantly, students, whose emotional intelligence is activated through efficient lessons that apply to real-life circumstances, are more likely to live a happier life. Leading a happy life with the trait to be able to regulate emotions automatically provides more harmonious and peaceful relationships that make it easier to empathize with other people’s experiences. In the end, it is wiser to learn from other people’s mistakes than making each mistake of one’s own. What’s more, emotional intelligence refers to the degree of the ability that human beings are capable of managing their feelings, which is crucial in times of crisis. By this definition, the failure to give proper attention to emotional intelligence and empathy in educational settings is most likely to change because lack of empathy and emotional intelligence causes crisis through miscommunication and misconduct in societies. The key to this problem is regulating educational systems.

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Figure 1. The Process Chart of Lack of Emotional Intelligence

Failing to include emotional intelligence and empathy into school curriculums often results in aggressive behaviors even with school-age children, which can later threaten society’s well-being by encouraging to educate students with emotional intelligence and empathy deficit (Lanzoni, 2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy offers people a variety of psychological approaches to change people’s feelings because when these uncontrolled feelings cause trouble, it is no longer only the individual’s problem, and it rather causes a social distraction in a community. In today’s educational systems, the negative impact of not including emotional intelligence and empathy in active curriculums throughout all grades is only dimly understood. In a research study, the relationship between emotional intelligence and empathy is investigated regarding differentiating the behavioral qualities between aggressors and victims of school violence. The concept of empathy is treated as two diverse variables in terms of cognitive and affective empathy. This former study is crucial in determining how empathy can be categorized through linguistic terminology of understanding the feelings of others (cognitive empathy) versus truly experiencing the feeling of others (affective empathy). The findings reveal that victims of school violence can express their emotions, and thereby aware of their emotions, yet they are unable to regulate or control them. That means learning through empathy is required to be part of every child’s life starting from infancy.

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What is common in aggression and in abusive/neglectful parenting is low levels of empathy. Fostering empathy­-- the ability to identify with another person’s feelings-- can serve as an antidote to aggression and is crucial to good parenting. Poor parenting and aggression cut across all socioeconomic levels of the community and, as such, empathy needs to be fostered in all children (Gordon, 2003, p. 236). In Canada, a transformational parenting program called “Roots of Empathy” is established to break the poor chain of neglectful parenting. This program targets to resolve problems before they occur, and this is the central approach missing from the crisis-related circumstances. From their perspective, poor parenting is likely to be transferred among generations, and their purpose was to redesign parenting skills based on empathic skill development. For this transformation, they investigated the main cause of poor parenting, which happens to be low levels of empathy towards the child. The roots of low levels of empathy start violence and neglect towards children, which often irreversibly harm children. Lack of empathy during childcare showed evidence of causing destructive abusive alterations in a child’s brain composition and function with weakened brain capacity, poor health, inadequacy in forming expressive relationships, and low level of empathy (Gordon, 2003; Nawrocki, 2020). If the fundamental solution is to offer young brains empathic, responsive, and fostering parenting, the same formula should be in place in schools to create nurturing and harmonious societies through the power of empathy.

CAN YOU REDESIGN A SOCIETY WITH MORE EMPATHY? It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.

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Muhammad Ali The world is not a fair place for the majority of the world’s children. People still suffer from hunger, wars, inequality, and terror although the world is much more global in this information age. Talking about a contemporary and global society when some of the very basic fundamental problems of societies remain unsolved is both vague and amorphic. Designing a super-smart cyber city in the space when massive numbers of world citizens are accepting to live in a less democratic environment than baboons is a relentless effort. Despite fast trains that can take you anywhere in seconds, people cannot reach out to each others’ minds. It draws attention to the question that asks how it is possible to live with more empathy in a democratic environment that is surrounded by emotionally intelligent communication styles. Given the richer understanding of societies’ major flaws reveals the foremost fundamental drawback in education is miscommunication through lack of empathy and ethics. Ethical rules are for everyone to follow, yet people with low levels of emotional intelligence and empathy prefer to think otherwise and create crises among communities. What seems obvious is that only understanding, naming, or recalling an emotion is not enough for regulating that behavior in times of crisis. On the other hand, aggressors have very low levels for both cognitive and affective empathy (Braun et al., 2015; Barlińska et al., 2013; Decety & Jackson, 2004; Estévez et al., 2019). What’s rather required to advance our understanding of emotional intelligence and empathy is that people don’t have time to experience other people’s mistakes to develop affective empathy. Conversely, it is equally hard for these individuals to activate their emotional intelligence through empathy, if they didn’t already gain these skills in their family or school environments. While it may be 107

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 Emotional Intelligence and Empathic Linguistic Power in Times of Crisis

the case that we cannot know what it feels like to be a dog or a chimpanzee, it is just as much the case that we cannot know what it feels like to be ‘any’ human other than ourselves (Spunt et al., 2017, p. 103) without empathy and emotional intelligence. People who act unethically generally provide rationalizations for their behavior. Underlying these explanations is the concept of situational ethics where decisions are made in a subjective manner and based on the underlying circumstances (Mintz, 2020b, para. 5). According to Mintz (2020b), ethics is not situational. Creating excuses for breaking the code of ethics is highly likely to repeat similar wrongdoing with another suitable excuse next time. The most problematic part of this message is people who get away from breaking a rule will repeat it again, if society lawfully fails to punish the wrongful behavior. In this way, society will be dysfunctional since the number of people with emotional intelligence and empathy deficit will increase in numbers eventually. The end of this story is either chaos or crises that are irreversible with instant and short-term remedies. This study reveals the necessity to alter society to make it rather immune to a future crisis by enhancing the concepts of empathy and emotional intelligence in educational settings to be able to redesign a society with more empathy.

CONCLUSION The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

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Eleanor Roosevelt The world is truly far more dangerous than before because all the technology, policymakers are often so proud of, could turn the information age into a disaster within minutes when the linguistic power is in the wrong hands. Within the context of wars, countries have always declared reasons to get into disagreements against each other, and they are good at creating an excuse, if they don’t have an actual reason. For decades, scientists remark on the significance of a global world in terms of acting together for the well-being of the planet, yet the voice of the scientific world is often disregarded and gets lost in the world of political power. In this information and technology age, it is hard to talk about “civilization,” when governments do not unite to save the children of this planet from hunger, war, abuse, neglect, and poverty. In all communities, from primitive to civilized, the conflict of interest is a determiner in forming behaviors, and behaviors often reveal the underlying thinking processes of societies. The underlying thinking processes within this context refer to collective motivating elements that cause certain behaviors but not others (Glasman & Albarracín, 2006). What’s more striking, communities develop a shared culture as a result of their collective memory that transfers from one generation to the next. The question of democracy, and how it is interpreted among human beings in comparison to some special animal species can provide fascinating clues on the collective behavior patterns of human beings. Quite interestingly, it has been widely suggested by some researchers that baboons take democratic decisions that respect the majority of their community’s approval while some societies, willingly or unwillingly, live within systems of power abuse. It should be remarked that the freedom of one individual ends when another person’s freedom is in question through the influence of empathy and emotional intelligence, and policymakers are responsible to redesign societies by giving this vital linguistic message throughout all their actions: “Every child should be raised on a banquet of love” (Gordon, 2003, p. 237). 108

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Once children are of school age, the single most important thing that we can do to advance pro-social (non-violent) behavior and effective parenting for the next generation is to foster the development of empathy (Gordon, 2003, p. 238). Thus, it is the teachers’, principals’, academicians’, policymakers’, schools’ and media’s responsibility to include emotional intelligence and empathy in school curriculums (Sa et al., 2019) for better functioning, crises-free societies of the future. This empirical study proposed a framework that discloses that the empathic linguistic power within a society could be a determining power for crises management and wellbeing at times of turmoil in terms of the following revelations: • • • •

Designing a crime and crisis-free society is now a beautiful dream, yet it is not impossible. The children are our future, so the smartest approach for a community to live in a peaceful environment is to protect its children despite the challenges of individual circumstances and crises. Parents must be educated on how to raise emotionally intelligent and caring children, and parents who are legally proven to have abused a child in any way must be lawfully forbidden to become a parent again. School programs and curriculums must focus on activating emotional intelligence and empathy as a school culture that will continue to be practiced lifetime in societies Policymakers should realize that crises occur when they disregard the voice of scientists and academicians for political fame.

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Goniewicz, K., Magiera, M., Burkle, F. M. Jr, & Goniewicz, M. (2020). Prospective study on the potential use of satellite data for disaster prevention, preparedness, and mitigation in Poland. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 35(3), 331–334. doi:10.1017/S1049023X20000321 PMID:32183922 Gordon, M. (2003). Roots of empathy: Responsive parenting, caring societies. The Keio Journal of Medicine, 52(4), 236–243. doi:10.2302/kjm.52.236 PMID:14748476 Huang, Y., & Zhao, N. (2020). Generalized anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-19 outbreak in China: A web-based cross-sectional survey. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112954. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112954 PMID:32325383 Huet, F., Prieur, C., Schurtz, G., Gerbaud, É., Manzo-Silberman, S., Vanzetto, G., Elbaz, M., Tea, V., Mercier, G., Lattuca, B., Duflos, C., & Roubille, F. (2020). One train may hide another: Acute cardiovascular diseases could be neglected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases, 113(5), 303–307. doi:10.1016/j.acvd.2020.04.002 PMID:32362433 John, P. (2021). Let’s walk before we can run: The uncertain demand from policymakers for trials. Behavioural Public Policy, 5(1), 112–116. doi:10.1017/bpp.2020.27 Joseph, D. L., Jin, J., Newman, D. A., & O’Boyle, E. H. (2015). Why does self-reported emotional intelligence predict job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of mixed EI. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 298–342. doi:10.1037/a0037681 PMID:25243996 Sa, B., Ojeh, N., Majumder, M. A. A., Nunes, P., Williams, S., Rao, S. R., & Youssef, F. F. (2019). The relationship between self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and empathy among students from six health professional programs. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 31(5), 536–543. doi:10.1080/10401334.2 019.1607741 PMID:31075996 Strandburg-Peshkin, A., Farine, D. R., Couzin, I. D., & Crofoot, M. C. (2015). Shared decision-making drives collective movement in wild baboons. Science, 348(6241), 1358–1361. doi:10.1126cience.aaa5099 PMID:26089514 Kiewe, A. (2012, March 12). The Notion of Crisis of Rhetoric. https://mcc.ku.dk/calendar/the_notion_of_crisis_rhetoric/ Kong, F., Gong, X., Sajjad, S., Yang, K., & Zhao, J. (2019). How is emotional intelligence linked to life satisfaction? The mediating role of social support, positive affect and negative affect. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(8), 2733–2745. doi:10.100710902-018-00069-4

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McCallie, F. (2020). White racism continues in the American South because of past human slavery. Gateway Journalism Review, 49(356), 78–80. MacCann, C., Jiang, Y., Brown, L. E., Double, K. S., Bucich, M., & Minbashian, A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), 150–186. doi:10.1037/bul0000219 PMID:31829667 McIlroy, R. C., Nam, V. H., Bunyasi, B. W., Jikyong, U., Kokwaro, G. O., Wu, J., Hoai, N. V., Hoque, S., Plant, K., Preston, J. M., & Stanton, N. A. (2020). Exploring the relationships between pedestrian behaviours and traffic safety attitudes in six countries. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 68, 257–271. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2019.11.006 Mintz, S. (2020a, January 16). What is wrong with society? Ethics Sage. https://www.ethicssage. com/2020/01/whats-wrong-with-society.html Mintz, S. (2020b, December 22). Why do good people sometimes do bad things? Ethics Sage. https:// www.ethicssage.com/2020/12/why-do-good-people-sometimes-do-bad-things.html Monitor. (2015, June 22). Democratic decision-making observed in baboon troops. https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0622/Democratic-decision-making-observed-in-baboon-troops Montemurro, N. (2020). The emotional impact of COVID-19: From medical staff to common people. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 87, 23–24. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2020.03.032 PMID:32240766 Moroń, M., & Biolik-Moroń, M. (2021). Trait emotional intelligence and emotional experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Poland: A daily diary study. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110348. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110348 PMID:32843781 Muriel, I. S. (2020). Mortgage Lending and Economic Wrongdoing During the Spanish Housing bubble. In Anthropological Enquiries into Policy, Debt, Business, and Capitalism. Emerald Publishing Limited. Nawrocki, B. (n.d.). The Correlation Between Complex Childhood Trauma and Adult Empathy Outcomes. Advance online publication. doi:10.1108/S0190-128120200000040007 O’Boyle, E. H. Jr, Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., & Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 788–818. doi:10.1002/job.714

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Sony, M., & Mekoth, N. (2016). The relationship between emotional intelligence, frontline employee adaptability, job satisfaction and job performance. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, 20–32. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.12.003 Spunt, R. P., Ellsworth, E., & Adolphs, R. (2017). The neural basis of understanding the expression of the emotions in man and animals. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(1), 95–105. doi:10.1093can/nsw161 PMID:27803286 Strum, S. C. (2012). Darwin’s monkey: Why baboons can’t become human. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149(S55), 3–23. doi:10.1002/ajpa.22158 PMID:23077093 Swart, H., Turner, R., Hewstone, M., & Voci, A. (2011). Achieving forgiveness and trust in postconflict societies: The importance of self-disclosure and empathy. In Moving beyond prejudice reduction: Pathways to positive intergroup relations (pp. 181–200). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12319-009 Tracey, J. (2018). James Bedell: The Inhumanity of War. Academic Press. United Nations Secretary-General. (2020, March 23). Transcript of the Secretary-General’s virtual press encounter on the appeal for global ceasefire. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2020-03-23/transcript-of-the-secretary-generals-virtual-press-encounter-the-appeal-for-globalceasefire United Nations. (2019). World Population Prospects, 2019 [Data set]. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_Highlights.pdf Viguer, P., Cantero, M. J., & Bañuls, R. (2017). Enhancing emotional intelligence at school: Evaluation of the effectiveness of a two-year intervention program in Spanish pre-adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 113, 193–200. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.03.036 Washburn, A. N., & Skitka, L. J. (2018). Science denial across the political divide: Liberals and conservatives are similarly motivated to deny attitude-inconsistent science. Social Psychological & Personality Science, 9(8), 972–980. doi:10.1177/1948550617731500

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Whiting, K. (2018, November 2). This is how long everyday plastic items last in the ocean. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/chart-of-the-day-this-is-how-long-everydayplastic-items-last-in-the-ocean/#:~:text=But%20it%20takes%20the%20ocean,to%20biodegrade%20 in%20the%20sea World Health Organization. (2019, March 11). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. https:// www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 Zabeida, N. (2010). Not Making Excuses: Functions of Rape as a Tool in Ethno-Nationalist Wars. In Women, War, and Violence (pp. 17-30). Palgrave Macmillan. Zhang, J., Wu, W., Zhao, X., & Zhang, W. (2020). Recommended psychological crisis intervention response to the 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China: A model of West China Hospital. Precision Clinical Medicine, 3(1), 3–8. doi:10.1093/pcmedi/pbaa006 PMID:32257531

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ADDITIONAL READING Alawdat, M. (2021). Multilingual Writing in Digital World: The Necessity for Reshaping Teaching. In Futuristic and Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching Writing to Second Language Students (pp. 84-101). IGI Global. Fernández-Abascal, E. G., & Martín-Díaz, M. D. (2019). Relations between dimensions of emotional intelligence, specific aspects of empathy, and non-verbal sensitivity. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1066. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01066 PMID:31156505 Gilet, A. L., Mella, N., Studer, J., Grühn, D., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (2013). Assessing dispositional empathy in adults: A French validation of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 45(1), 42. Hancı-Azizoglu, E. B. (2021). Bourdieu’s habitus for academicians: Is social justice for academicians only a fancy phrase in the 21st century? In M. Khosrow (Ed.), Research Anthology on Instilling Social Justice in the Classroom (Vol. 1, pp. 1-18). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. DOI: doi:10.4018/978-1-79987706-6.ch001 Hancı-Azizoglu, E. B., & Kavaklı, N. (2021). Rewriting the Future Through Rhetorical Technology. In Futuristic and Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching Writing to Second Language Students (pp. 1–15). IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-6508-7.ch001 Hancı-Azizoglu, E. B., & Alawdat, M. (2021). Expressive Multilingual Writing: A Transformational Healing Skill for a Pandemic Challenge. In Futuristic and Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching Writing to Second Language Students (pp. 235-250). IGI Global. Kavaklı, N., & Hancı-Azizoglu, E. B. (2021). Digital Storytelling: A Futuristic Second-Language-Writing Method. In Futuristic and Linguistic Perspectives on Teaching Writing to Second Language Students (pp. 66-83). IGI Global. Sznycer, D. (2019). Forms and functions of the self-conscious emotions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(2), 143–157. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2018.11.007 PMID:30583948

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Baboons: The species of large monkeys that live in Asia and Africa in complex hierarchical and democratic societies. COVID-19: A deadly and infectious respiratory disease, which was declared to be a pandemic in March 2019. Crisis: A period of intense instability of a catastrophe that causes severe pressure and stress. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to understand, internalize, process and regulate emotions to be able to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. Empathic Education: The ideal educational and intellectual systems that focus on teaching the concept of “empathy” for redesigning more civilized and crisis-free societies.

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Empathic Linguistic Power: The aptitude to use language within a constructive and positive manner by respecting all parties that are involved in the linguistic message. Empathic linguistic power is significantly crucial in times of crisis. Empathy: The aptitude to internalize what another person is feeling without the need to experience it. Redesigning a Society Through Empathy: The action plan that targets improving a society’s shared communication styles through activating emotional intelligence and empathy for a crisis-free world. Sociolinguistics: The scientific discipline that investigates the relationship between societies and language in context.

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Chapter 7

How to Foster Equality in the Language Classroom Carmela B. Scala Rutgers University, USA

ABSTRACT As part of a vast interconnected ecosystem, we indeed thrive when we can live harmoniously and interact with others. However, this is not always the case, as we often face challenging times that make us question the fundamental values on which we base our existence. The past year’s brutal events, such as the police killing of Black citizens in the United States, have highlighted the profound division that afects our society, feeding the plague of systemic racism, and has brought more attention to Black’s representation throughout the world. The purpose of this chapter is to take a step in the right direction toward the elimination of systemic racism and inequality, at least in our language classroom. The author believes that defeating systemic racism by promoting a rhetoric of peace and equality and equipping students with the right sociolinguistic competencies could help our society overcome the concept of crisis. The author also argues that introducing Culturally Responsive teaching might be the best way to fght racism. Indeed, it allows students to share their heritage and linguistic knowledge and compare their cultures with others to learn about commonalities and diferences.

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INTRODUCTION As world language teachers and researchers, we are fortunate enough to be in a privileged position to fight systemic racism and inequality. Our classroom should be a safe space where all the students not only feel but are ‘actually’ equal and treated fairly. Language instructors should be committed to the goals of preserving and defending human dignity, promoting a peaceful existence among different cultures, of teaching anti-racism principles, and bringing all of these goals into the curriculum. How we teach and what we teach needs to change. For too long, we have been almost afraid of talking about serious and sensitive issues. Nevertheless, now more than ever, it is time to talk about the elephant in the room openly: systemic racism, which exists and destroys our country’s different cultures’ peaceful cohabitation. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch007

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 How to Foster Equality in the Language Classroom

The profound crisis that has struck our society in the past year has made us question humanity’s fundamental core values. One crucial step to help solve this crisis is to change our rhetoric and use a language that promotes acceptance and, the classroom is the right place to start doing this. We must recognize the unique opportunity we have by being language teachers. Clearly, all instructors don’t share an identical background. Indeed, some teachers might have experience in being the ‘other’ (the outsider looking in.) Others might know about the ‘other’ but don’t necessarily have the experience of being it. However, all of us collectively, being vectors languages and culture have something in common: we appreciate diversity, welcome the ‘other,’ and look at the world from different perspectives. Our unique opportunity is to bring all this into the classroom and infuse our students with the same principles. We can help our learners understand that there is no ‘other’ and no reason to be troubled by diversity. We can show them that while we might do things differently, we all deserve equal respect. The language class should be thought of as a journey of discovery of the target language culture and the ‘cultures’ in your classroom. The best approach to promote and teach equality is to create an environment where everybody feels comfortable sharing. To achieve that, we should adopt a culturally responsive teaching approach. Culturally responsive teaching, also known as culturally relevant teaching, is a pedagogical approach that recognizes the importance of including students’ culture and background in all aspects of learning. It is a methodology that moves away from the traditional teacher-centered classroom, where the teacher is considered the absolute authority in the subject matter, toward a student-centered environment. It is essential to shift the attention from us-teachers- to them – the students- because we really need to know who is in our class to deliver a fair educational experience. As Childers-McKees (2020) says: Teachers have a more diverse classroom today. We don’t have students sitting in front of us with the same background or experience, so instruction has to be different. It needs to be built on individual and cultural experiences and their prior knowledge. It needs to be justice-oriented and reflect the social context we’re in now. That’s what we mean when we talk about culturally responsive teaching. (as cited in Burnham, 2020, para. 4)

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Culture is influential, and it should be at the center of all we do in education. It represents who we are; it refers to our traditions, family values, and how we move, eat, dress, dance, and socialize. It is part of our identity, and we can’t separate ourselves from it. Hence when we walk into the classroom, we bring our culture with us, the same way our students bring theirs: Teachers carry unto the classroom their personal cultural background. They perceive students, all of whom are cultural agents, with inevitable prejudice and preconception. Students likewise come to school with a personal cultural background that influences their perception of teachers, other students, and the school itself. (Spindlers, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.), 1994) There is no escape from this and the reality that education is a ‘sociocultural process,’ a situation in which we learn how to relate to different people with diverse beliefs and lifestyles. Consequently, getting to know one another and understanding who we have in front of us is crucial. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT henceforth) allows us to do just that and can have strikingly positive effects when incorporated into classroom instruction. In fact, CRT can help students have a stronger sense of identity and feel more engaged with the class material. It can also foster a real sense of ‘belonging’ and support equity 117

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and inclusivity because it integrates the students’ cultural backgrounds into the curriculum. It filters the material through the lenses of their personal experience. CRT is empowering for students because it validates all the ethnicities present in the classroom; it communicates that all cultures are equally important and that having different beliefs, learning styles, and preferences is an asset, not a fault. In essence, this approach furthers the creation of a community of learners, where students work closely together, build meaningful relationships, and show respect for one another. Hence, we can certainly affirm that CRT is an inclusive pedagogical approach that embraces all learners by bringing them together while promoting respect for human dignity and stimulating academic excellence. When a teacher embraces this approach, the class becomes a safe space, a familiar place where all the students feel accepted. They work together as a ‘whole’, and the understanding is that they will raise and fail together, Culturally responsive teaching is validating and affirming because: • • • • •

It acknowledges the legitimacy of the cultural heritages of diferent groups, both as legacies that afect students’ dispositions, attitudes, and approaches to learning and as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum. It builds bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences as well as between academic abstractions and lived sociocultural realities. It uses a variety of instructional strategies that are connected to diferent learning styles. It teaches students to know and praise their own and one another’s cultural heritages. It incorporates multicultural information, resource, and material in all the subjects and skills routinely taught in schools. (Gay, G., 2018, p.37)

In essence, the CRT approach helps students develop global competencies that will prepare them to better deal with cultural diversity in the real world beyond the classroom walls. It equips them with the sociolinguistic skills necessary to navigate different environments and cultural contexts.

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CRT IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM This past year’s tragic and despicable events1 have generated a new urgency to address the pressing social issue of racism and discrimination against people of color and the devastating effects it has on humanity. Black individuals still live in daily fear of physical and emotional harm surrounded by a culture of anti-blackness, and this is an unacceptable reality. While numerous people have realized how much work we need to do to fully understand how racism structures our world and the role we need to play to eradicate it, many still need to be sensitized to the matter. The Black Lives Matter2 movement has raised much-needed attention to anti-Semitic bouts and perpetuated racist attacks toward minorities and black people. However, the challenge persists, and we need to open our eyes and try to see the world through the others’ eyes, or better yet, we need to learn how to speak their ‘tongue’ and learn their culture. So, the question is: what steps can we (educators) take to raise a more ‘racially sensitive and accepting’ society? Talking about racism is not enough, we need to set the example by acting and by showing our students acceptance, respect and inclusivity3. The language class can be a great platform to promote equality and empathy towards other ethnicities. In fact, teaching a language is not just about vocabulary, pronunciation and perhaps grammar structures. Teaching a language should be also (and mostly) about sharing the history, the culture, the heritage of people from another ‘country’ and at times from 118

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a different ethnicity. However, we should not stop there. The target culture, history and heritage should be only a starting point to bring in other cultures. The best way to fight racism is to allow our students to share their heritage, their linguistic knowledge and to compare their culture with others so they can learn about commonalities and differences. In this article, I would like to discuss some activities and techniques (related to CRT) that could be used in the language class to sensitize our youth to the issues of racism and inequality in our society. Indeed, I argue that defeating systemic racism by promoting a rhetoric of peace and equality and equipping students with the right sociolinguistic competencies could help humanity overcome the concept of crisis.

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BUILD RELATIONSHIPS The first step towards establishing an inclusive classroom is to build relationships with and among students. In the same interview mentioned above, Childers-McKee also says that students might not learn from their teachers because they do not feel valued or appreciated. As I have expressed in another article of mine, students crave relationships with their teachers, and they need to know that their instructors see them. That is why the instructors need to get to know their students from the start of the semester, and it is also crucial for them to know you. One way to achieve that is to propose activities that incentivizes sharing. For example, we could create a video presentation, a ‘get to know you’ questionnaire’ or other fun assignments to become familiar with the individuals in the class. However, if we intend to create a racism-free space, we must refine and revisit our traditional activities. We need to include discussions about race and racism without being afraid to raise uncomfortable reactions and conversations. As language teachers, we are familiar with other cultures, and in the classroom, we represent ‘the other’ within the USA’s mainstream culture. Thus, we should use our knowledge and sensibility to spark a discussion about racism. We must share our experience with it and encourage the students to do the same. To ensure a fruitful conversation, all students have to feel comfortable and recognized. A valid way to guarantee that is to welcome everybody to share their culture with the class. Consequently, if we ask our students to create an introductory video, we could encourage them to show objects, share stories, or perhaps even wear outfits representing their heritage. We should also share our traditions and display items and other realia that define who we are. Sharing each-other’s cultural funds will foster a welcoming environment and will communicate acceptance to all students. If we choose to create a questionnaire, we have to include questions about equality, students’ learning styles and preferences, and their linguistic knowledge. This information will help us revisit our syllabus and incorporate topics, activities, and material that mirror the interest of the individuals in the class. While there is nothing terribly wrong with the traditional materials used in our language classes, in the spirit of CRT, we should integrate those with supplemental resources explicitly created for the class at hand and the students in front of us. Another successful strategy to establish rapport with the students is through the use of storytelling. I strongly believe that storytelling should be part of our teaching; as King (1993) says, stories “help make the abstract more concrete, diverse facts more understandable, and arouse interest in learning as students become engrossed, not only in the story itself, but in the culture or social context in which it is told” (p.2). One of the strategies advocated by CRT is to activate students’ prior knowledge, which is what storytelling does. It stimulates our learners’ long-term memory because it appeals to the ancient tradition of storytelling and might evoke childhood memories. Our students are not tabula rasa; they come to our 119

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class with a heavy cultural baggage load, and we should encourage them to use their prior knowledge to contribute to the learning experience, making it more contextual and meaningful. Telling stories related to their personal lives and upbringing creates a ‘homey’ feeling and sparks interest in knowing more about other people’s history. Sharing tales builds a strong bridge of communication among learners and it helps them understand each other’s ‘tongues.’ We could also promote their ‘thinking’ by follow up with stimulating questions (i.e., would you travel to that country? Why?) to be answered in writing. While telling stories and listening are more immediate experiences, writing is, by nature, slow and requires extra attention. Hence students need to reflect further and rethink what they have heard, which leads to a deeper internalization of the material and a better understanding of the ‘new culture.’ Storytelling is a powerful tool because we really all have a story to tell, and it starts with our names. An incredible exercise to ignite students’ participation is to share the reasons behind our names. For instance, in Italy we usually name our kids after our grandparents and our names are all Saints’ names. In the US the Italian American communities, generally name their first-born male after his father. In other cultures, names are chosen based on the biblical meaning they have and so forth. It is staggering how much you can learn about a culture by telling the story behind your name. This activity is simple and truly inclusive and fun because everybody in the class can participate. A challenging but worthy proposal is to take the storytelling a step further and build the entire course around the idea of telling a story: specifically, you will share the tale of the language you are teaching and the people who speak it. Throughout the semester, while building the narrative related to the target language and culture, you will possibly ask the students to share the history behind their language and heritage. I am not talking about merely including some fairytales in your reading list (although they work well.) I am suggesting that you organize the learning material into ‘tales.’ The idea is to look at the language not just as an aggregation of words and grammatical rules, but as a story to be unraveled instead. The words we use, even the rules we apply can reveal a country’s tale and we should bank on the opportunities to uncover the culture that inspired them. One could use original stories or invent and create them; the important thing is to narrate the language rather than just speak it. Honestly, every word we teach allows us to recount an anecdote. For example, I always share my parents’ honeymoon story when I teach the house’s vocabulary. In Italian, we still have the expression ‘letto matrimoniale’ to translate ‘double bed,’ so first, I invite my students to reflect on the expression and guess why we call it that way. Then I tell them the story of when my parents arrived in Rome for their honeymoon, and they had to show their marriage certificate to have the “camera con letto matrimoniale’ (room with double bed). I explain that it is called that because back in the days in Italy, it was illegal to get a hotel room with double bed without being married. They laugh a bit, but at the same time, they learn how conservative Italian culture was in the past and how it has evolved through the years. Then we continue, and it is their turn to tell me a particular word in their language that reveals something unique regarding their culture. At the end of the class, we all have learned something about each other and had the chance to appreciate our differences and our similarities (if any.) Words that exemplify the culture and traditions of a country or group of people exist in every language. Hence, no matter what language we teach, we can narrate it. Essentially, we can introduce every topic taught during the semester with a story that contextualizes language and brings culture to the foreground. One class meeting for each unit of instruction could perhaps be dedicated to storytelling and learning about the heritages in the class; alternatively, the exchange of anecdotes among students could happen on the course LMS (learning management system) via a threaded discussion.

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By allowing this exchange of chronicles and by validating each contribution, we indirectly teach our students that in our class and the world, cultural diversity is a strength as it enriches our lives by creating new perspectives. Moreover, we reinforce the idea that there is no ‘one supreme’ culture; instead, there are ‘many supreme’ ones. Considering the upheavals, we have witnessed in the recent past, this idea should be embedded in our students’ minds. The hope is that when they enter the workforce or simply interact with others, they’ll remember that there is not (or there should not be) ‘supremacy’ of any kind. In reality, one of the mistakes that are often made is to believe that as language instructors we are supposed to teach only the target culture and restrict conversations and instruction topics to that. I strongly disagree with this as I see myself as a vector of ‘multiple cultures,’ not just a single one. In my classes, Italian culture is just the starting point to learn about all the other traditions represented in the room. Furthermore, to ‘dethroned’ Italian culture in the class, when I introduce customs, and traditions I never talk about “Italian culture”, implying that there is only ‘one’ way of being Italian. Instead, I prefer to talk about “The cultures of the Italian people today.” Let me explain why. I believe that the words we choose to utter our thoughts matter and can potentially create barriers that can harm communication or lead to misunderstandings. To students in the USA, the phrase “Italian Culture” comes with many preset connotations, both negative and positive. It evokes art, fashion, cars, food, family, but it also brings to mind the image of a predominately white, catholic, and conservative society. While many Italians are still white, catholic, and somehow conservative, Italy has changed, and it is essential to show that. I think that all the cultures present in the Bel Paese ‘today’ should be displayed in class. Therefore, in talking about Italy I must show the true colors of my country today and to that end I use pictures of Italian classrooms where you can see White, Black, Chinese, Arabic students hanging together. Moreover, I share videos of ‘different’ Italians and emphasize the variety of ethnicities included in the sentence ‘Italian cultures today.’ This helps my students of color feel included as I can easily connect with their backgrounds by exploring Italians of color’s lifestyles. It also opens up the field for an informative and unbiased discussion on race and racism globally, not just in the USA. Shifting the attention from our home country (USA) to a different one (in this case, Italy) makes the discussion of racism less fraught because it appears less personal to our students. Finally, a useful exercise to further sensitize the class to discrimination against minorities and people of color and to connect the target culture (in my case, Italian culture) with theirs is to interview (or show interviews of) people in Italy, who are victimized because of their ethnicity. A live interview works better than a pre-recorded one because it allows you to ask your students to create questions and engage in conversation with the interviewee4. I follow up with a class discussion to reiterate the importance of acceptance and respect toward each other. This activity leads them to reflect more deeply on the topic and internalize the experience. Additionally, it sets the tone for the rest of the semester; my students know that they are all welcomed and that our class is a safe space to be who they want to be5.

ADAPTING OUR TEACHING We can all agree that in our classroom, we are not merely confronted with various learning styles and personalities; we are also faced with multiple cultures. While many instructors are prepared to tackle different approaches to accommodate multiple learning styles and manage different kinds of students, many are not well equipped to deal with diverse cultures. All of us certainly have good intentions about being fair and non-discriminatory, but our unpreparedness to relate to cultural differences in the class121

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room might harm our students, nonetheless. Hence, it would be useful if all the language department would have workshops led by pedagogical and race studies experts to educate instructors on approaching differences. As Gay (2018) writes “goodwill must be accompanied by pedagogical knowledge and skills as well as the courage to dismantle the status quo” (p.13). Nevertheless, the discussion for revisiting our teachers and our language teachers’ education curriculum does not pertain to this article. If you would like some elucidation on the matter, I recommend reading “Redefining Teachers Competence Through Immersive Programs. Practices for Culturally Sustaining Classrooms”6. Besides better educating our teachers, the first step to dismantle the status quo is to be honest with ourselves and others. It is crucial that we understand, without being ashamed, that we all have our prejudices and preconceptions that can positively or negatively affect how we relate to others. The point is that in our role as educators, we need to free ourselves from any partiality to deliver the best possible learning experience to our learners. We ought to learn about the cultures surrounding us and their mores and lifestyles to understand our students better. If we opened ourselves up to the infinite and colorful intercultural world, then we would become better teachers. We would be able to see, for real, who is in front of us when we walk into the classroom. Many instructors might see just students and think that it is alright. The truth is we should be able to see the ‘unique humans’ in front of us and be ready to interact with each of them most suitably and distinctively. The awareness of the diversity in our classes suggests that there is no one teaching style that ‘fits all.’ There needs to be flexibility, and instructors should be prepared to adapt, change and modify their teaching approach as required. This is the ‘trick’ to embrace diversity and create a ‘racially fair’ classroom. At this point, I would like to suggest a few ways to diversify our teaching. Suppose our concern is to encourage mutual understanding and respect. As teachers, we ought to set the example by acknowledging all the cultures in the class. We can do that by making sure that we diversify our teaching and adopt a student-centered instruction based on collaborative and cooperative learning. Much research has been done on the importance of cooperation and collaboration in the classroom and cooperative activities’ effectiveness to promote understanding. The different studies seem to agree that these kinds of activities encourage and facilitate learning by creating a safe and fun environment. Gayton and McEwen (2007) believe an interactive and cohesive environment that includes group work, regular assignments, and reliable feedback is needed for success. Levy (2008) found collaborative activities and other interactions were highly valued by students.7 I believe in group work, and I am convinced that it is a good practice not only to engage students but also to foster respect and equality. When assigning collective projects, we can either group students randomly or create specific groups. Often, I prefer to create groups for two reasons. First, it allows me to keep a fair balance in the class by promoting an even allocation of ‘talent’ where stronger students and weaker ones are fairly distributed. Second, and more importantly, it allows me to purposively group students based on their ethnicity. At times I choose to create groups of different nationalities and backgrounds and induce students to “get out of their comfort zone” to confront themselves with various personalities and cultures. The experience of working closely with people who might have different opinions and perspectives will prepare them to deal with potentially controversial situations in real life. Negotiating realities and attitudes enrich their cultural knowledge and provide a global outlook on life. Students learn that cultures are non-static realities; on the opposite, they are dynamic, evolving, and mingling incessantly, which means that the idea of a ‘single dominant culture’ is obsolete and unmistakably wrong. This exercise is also a great tool to battle systemic racism. We might have students in the class who come from a very sheltered family 122

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and have never closely interacted with people from a diverse background. We might also have students who have been raised by racist parents who believe their ‘culture’ is supreme. Working so closely with the ‘other’ could help them come out of their ‘shell’ and appreciate their peers. Furthermore, being repeatedly exposed to different cultures and heritages will foster their acceptance of diversity. Teaching our youth to be respectful gives us hope that our society could change for the better and overcome the terrible predicaments that hinder our harmonious coexistence. When I need students to work on new material or ‘peer teach,’8 I opt to group individuals who share the same backgrounds. People in various countries and societies are raised in unique ways, which means they are also educated differently. Some cultures emphasize listening to the teacher rather than expressing personal opinions (i.e., Chinese culture and surprisingly also Italian culture.) Others encourage and praise communication, voicing opinions, working together (i.e., American culture.) Hence, if the activity’s goal is to help students learn new material, it is better to provide a comfortable environment and pair them with others with a similar learning style. Afterwards, I rearrange the students in more differentiated groups, so they get a chance to be exposed to other ways of learning and ‘teaching’ as well. However, I believe that the first step to bring together individuals with the same cultural heritage is crucial. Peers who share identical ethnic and educational backgrounds might explain to each other complicated topics more effectively than we can. I am not suggesting that the students can replace the instructors. I am merely proposing that working with a homogeneous group, students might find associations, comparisons, and cultural references that could ease their learning process, and we, being the ‘outsider,’ won’t be able to find them. It is crucial that all of group work in the class is well structured and organized around what Avineri (2017) defines the “4 Rs ethic”: reasons, roles, relationships, and responsibilities. Reasons are one’s goals, aims, and objectives in engaging in inquiry and partnership; roles are the subject positions that various individuals may occupy; responsibilities are the tasks and duties involved in those various roles; and relationships are built through ongoing interactions. (pp. 64-65)

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Although Avineri is talking about groups within the more complicated field of immersion programs and nested interculturality, I believe that his approach could work in our classroom too. My idea is to transform our class into an ‘immersive experience’ and foster nested interculturality “Nested interculturality” is a collective of dispositions (enduring attitudes that guide behavior) and practices (behaviors and action that embody those dispositions) for ethical engagement in intercultural interactions. Here, I use the “nest” metaphor in two ways. The first way is to consider “nests” as any space where one feels both challenged and supported, a protected space for growth. ... The second way that “nesting” is used is to highlight how participants in immersion experiences are frequently engaging in many layers of cultures (e.g., cohorts, classrooms, organizations, regions, countries) simultaneously. (Avineri, N., 2019, pp. 37-64) Avineri’s approach is innovative because it recognizes the complex and, in a sense, stressful nature of ‘intercultural relations.’ She acknowledges that tensions are inevitable among people of different ethnicities, but there are ways to overcome them. We should look at our classes in the same way and always be mindful that we welcome various ethnicities, and some might have contrasting beliefs and 123

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attitudes or dispositions. It is our duty to be vigilant and solve tensions as soon as they emerge, creating a safe ‘nest’ for students to grow and learn how to navigate our world better. A great way to eliminate frictions among students is, as I suggested above, to have them work in groups. However, going back to Avineri’s first quote, students must have a clear idea of the activity’s learning objectives (reasons) and have specific roles. Having a defined role helps them organize their work better and have an ‘identity’ within the group. Moreover, roles clarify each person’s tasks (responsibilities), so everyone knows what is expected of them. Finally, working together towards the successful completion of the task cultivates and develops amicable relationships. This ‘strict’ organization of the group work is necessary, primarily when we bring together students of different backgrounds as it will lead to a respectful exchange of approaches and knowledge. Nevertheless, we can’t always resort to group work. In the spirit of CRT that invites us to diversify our teaching, we need to vary the class activities and homework assignments as well. Some students, in fact, might work better independently or might need different stimuli to metabolize content. We have to move from one pedagogical-teaching approach to the next to accommodate diverse learning styles and promote language proficiency. Teachers can’t walk into a class and assume that one method will work for all learners and for the entire semester. Part of what makes teaching fun is the improvisation. It keeps us on our tiptoes and makes the journey much more enjoyable. Ultimately until we meet our class and know who we have in front of us, we can’t ‘really’ decide what teaching approach or assignments will help our students learn. Embracing an intercultural teaching approach means that we are willing to create differentiated assignments, thus accommodating the many cultures present in the classroom. Essentially, when we assign homework, we should give our students options to complete the task in different ways and via various media. Flexibility is necessary to accommodate everybody’s learning preferences and foster a welcoming space. Nonetheless, the idea of ‘differentiation’ is not limited to allowing various modes of submission9; it also pertains to the topics introduced in the classroom. We could include many activities in our language course to focus on issues of diversity and equity. We should introduce readings on different themes (such as religion, racism, gender issues, etc.) seldomly included in the traditional textbooks. Students could analyze the authentic texts in the target language and culture (written test, video, pictures, maps, cartoons, etc.) and either create a presentation on the topic or a video or a multimedia project to share with the class what they have learned. Another possibility would be to ask them to do some further research independently to learn more on a specific topic. An example of a great and accessible project to raise awareness about racism and discrimination is to use a particular city map to show immigrants’ agglomerations. I have done this in one of my language classes, and it was a success. I brought in a map of Rome and highlighted the different neighborhoods where immigrants live. I invited students to observe how distant those ‘immigrants’ nest’ were from the city center or from the ‘upper-class’ parts of the city. They were asked to research who else lived in those neighborhoods and decide if there was a fair distribution of housing and any integrations between locals and newcomers. Ultimately, they created a new map of the city less ‘racist’ and more inclusive. It was a great project that inspired them to ponder on the immigrants’ lives in Italy and reflect on the less-fortunate living arrangements here at home or in their native country. The hands-on nature of the activity and the diverse way each student was allowed to contribute sparked great interest and collaboration. Ultimately, they understood that, alas, discrimination doesn’t belong to a single minority or country, but it is a global phenomenon that affects many. They empathized with the immigrants in Italy 124

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and also with each other. That is just an example of how authentic texts can provide ample opportunities to investigate difficult but necessary topics. Authentic texts in the target language are also useful to create exercises that invite students to focus on the author’s linguistic and semantic choices. We could help them observe how specific structures and grammatical rules reinforce and perpetuate gender/race stereotypes. Afterward, they could work on creating new rules that will lead to a more accepting culture. I believe this is a great practice to stimulate the conversation on equality and race and to make all students feel connected. It also makes learning contextual because it connects the target culture’s problems with relevant issues for their own heritages and of our society. Another way to bring CRT in our classes is by introducing adaptive assignments. Adaptive assignments are usually follow-up assignments personalized for the students’ weaknesses. However, we can take the concept of adaptive assignments a bit further and integrate it with “authentic task assignments.” The main difference between the two is that while the adaptive assignments represent an intervention to help the students improve their scores and learning, the latter are activities inspired by real-life situations and possibly related to students’ interests. Adaptive assignments can also become more personal in terms of content. The instructor could, in fact, create tasks that incorporate students’ real-life interests. In this case, we will be combining traditional adaptive assignments with authentic assignments. Traditionally, authentic assignments incorporate real-life tasks and situations and assess how much learners genuinely know about the culture and the target language. In an effort to decolonize our language class, we should also tailor these activities to our students ‘heritage and ethnicity’ and create scenarios that incorporate their mores and traditions. For instance, if one or all of our students are having difficulty grasping the rules for the possessive adjectives (those are very confusing in Italian!), instead of bringing to class a picture of the ‘typical-biblical’ family, we could find better ways to help them. First, we could ask them to bring in a picture of their family and share their traditions; secondly, we could introduce a less traditional and stereotyped family by sharing videos and photos of a more ‘modern family.’ To give you an idea, in my Italian language classes, when I need to review or introduce the possessive adjectives, I share a video that represents an inter-racial and multicultural family rather than the stereotypical Italian family (white, heterosexual, and possibly with a pet!) Like this, we would be tailoring the activity to the students’ grammatical lacunae (adaptive assignment) and their culture (authentic assignment). Learning the possessive adjectives by talking about their own family or about an ‘Italian’ family that resembles theirs makes the whole process more meaningful. The combination of adaptive assignment + authentic assignment works excellent in terms of inclusivity and equity. Students feel involved because tasks are customized for their needs and linked to their life. It shows and creates compassion: students feel ‘recognized’ as individuals because they can see and perceive our interest in knowing them and helping them through their learning journey. Ultimately, I am convinced that if we show empathy, we are also teaching it; if we offer acceptance, we encourage it; if we talk sincerely about racism, we help dismantle it. Demolishing racism would also dismount the divisive barriers that continue to erode the principles of a democratic society and perpetuating the crisis. In our classroom, we have the chance to make a difference, and we can definitely promote change. To do that, we ought to be very careful about how we talk, and about the words, and the tone we use. Because of the media and particularly social media, we have grown so accustomed to a rhetoric of violence and hate that sometimes we don’t even realize we are using the same language we so deeply despise. In class, we need to be on alert and use language that promotes respect, acceptance, and equality and asks 125

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our students to do the same. If they learn to cohabitate peacefully in the classroom, they will probably acquire the necessary skills to do so in society. Furthermore, if they are taught what equality is, they will be more aware of social discrimination when they see it and advocate for change. We can change the world overnight and cannot solve a crisis in one day. However, we can and should start the ‘work’ in class and pave the way for our youth to continue fighting racism and injustice. A society that lives in harmony thrives more. A society divided by social and racial barriers is doomed to fail; that is why eliminating racism and bringing back peace would help overcome humanity’s crisis.

REFERENCES Avineri, N. (2017). Research methods for language teaching: Inquiry, process, and synthesis. Palgrave. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-56343-9 Avineri, N. (2019). “Nested Interculturality”: Dispositions and practices for navigating tensions in immersion experiences. In D. Martin & E. Smolcic (Eds.), Redefining teaching competence through immersive programs (pp. 37–64). Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-24788-1_2 Berryman, M. (2013). Culturally responsive methodologies. Emerald Group Publishing. Canagarajah, S. (2004). Subversive identities, pedagogical safe houses, and critical learning. In B. Norton & K. Toohey (Eds.), Critical pedagogies and language learning (pp. 116–137). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139524834.007 Chavez, A. F., & Longerbeam, S. D. (2016). Teaching across cultural strengths: A guide to balancing integrated individuated cultural frameworks in college teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. Compton-Lilly, C. (Ed.). (2009). Breaking the silence: recognizing the social and cultural resources students bring to the classroom. International Reading Association. Cook, V. (1992). Evidence for multi-competence. Language Learning, 42(4), 557–591. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1992.tb01044.x Cook, V. (1997). Monolingual bias in second language acquisition research. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 34, 35–50.

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Davis, B. (2012). How to teach students who don’t look like you: culturally responsive teaching strategies. Corwin. Esteban-Guitart, M., & Moll, L. C. (2014). Funds of identity: A new concept based on the funds of knowledge approach. Culture and Psychology, 20(1), 31–48. doi:10.1177/1354067X13515934 Gay, G. (2018). Culturally Responsive Teaching. Theory, Research and Practice. Teachers College Press. Gillies, R. M. (2014). Cooperative learning: Developments in research. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 3(2), 125–140. Ginsberg, M. B. (2015). Excited to learn: motivation and culturally responsive teaching. Corwin.

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Hornberger, N. H., & Wang, S. C. (2008). Who are our heritage language learners? Identity and biliteracy in heritage language education in the United States. In D. Brinton, O. Kagan, & S. Bauckus (Eds.), Heritage language education: A new field emerging (pp. 3–35). Routledge. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995a). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. doi:10.1080/00405849509543675 Leeman, J. (2015). Heritage Language Education and Identity in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 100–119. doi:10.1017/S0267190514000245 Levine, G. (2011). Stability, crisis, and other reasons for optimism: University foreign language education in the United States. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 10(2), 131–140. doi:10.1177/1474022211401861 Longerbeam, S. D., & Chávez, A. F. (2016). Going inward: The role of cultural introspection in college teaching. Peter Lang Publishing. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-1849-4 Martin, D., & Smolcic, E. A. (2019). Redefining teaching competence through immersive programs: Practices for culturally sustaining classrooms. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-24788-1 Moeller, A. K., & Nugent, K. (2014). Building intercultural competence in the language classroom. Faculty Publications: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, 161. Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice: Qualitative Issues in Educational Research, 31(2), 132–141. doi:10.1080/00405849209543534 Ogby, J. (1995). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. In J. Banks & C. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education. MacMillan. Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (Eds.). (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world (language and literacy series). Teachers College Press. Prado-Olmos, P., Rios, F., & Castañeda, L. (2007). “We are multiculturalism”: A self study of faculty of colour with preservice teachers of colour. Studying Teacher Education, 3(1), 85–102. doi:10.1080/17425960701284040

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Rendon, L. (2009). Sentipensante (sensing/thinking) pedagogy: Educating for wholeness, social justice and liberation. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Spindler, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.). (1994). Pathways to cultural awareness: Cultural Therapy with teachers and students. Corwin. Swain, M. (2010). “Talking-it-through”: Languaging as a source of learning. In R. Batstone (Ed.), Sociocognitive perspectives on second language learning and use (pp. 112–129). Oxford University Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932 Williams, L.Q. (2017). How to accept and respect other cultures. Retrieved from owlcation.com/socialsciences/How-to-Accept-and-Respect-other-Cultures.

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ADDITIONAL READING Ammar, H., & Hassan, R. M. (2018). Talking it through: Collaborative dialogue and second language learning: Collaborative dialogue. Language Learning, 68(1), 46–82. doi:10.1111/lang.12254 Aski, J. (2000). Effective integration of reading in the communicative Italian (FL) classroom. Italica, 77(4), 495–508. doi:10.2307/480285 Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (3rd ed.). Multilingual Matters. Bale, J. (2010). International comparative perspectives on heritage language education policy research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 42–65. doi:10.1017/S0267190510000024 Bennett, M. J. (2004). Becoming interculturally competent. In J. Wurzel (Ed.), Towards multiculturalism: A reader in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 62–77). Intercultural Resource Corporation. Chartock, R. (2010). Strategies and lessons for culturally responsive teaching: a primer for K-12 teachers Boston. Pearson. Costagno, A. (2014). Educated in whiteness. Minnesota Press. doi:10.5749/minnesota/9780816681631.001.0001 Delgado-Gaitan, C. (2006). Building culturally responsive classrooms: a guide for K-6 teachers Thousand Oaks. Corwin Press. Dolci, R., Tamburri, A. J., & John D. Calandra Italian-American Institute. (2015). Intercomprehension and plurilingualism: Assets for Italian language in the USA. Fabbian, C., Carney, E. Z., & Grgurović, M. (2017). Lessons learned: Design and implementation of Italian blended language courses. Italica, 94(2), 314–353. Faltis, C. (1997). Joinfostering: Adapting teaching for the multilingual classroom. Merrill. García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Wiley-Blackwell. Ginsberg, M., & Wlodkowski, R. (2009). Diversity & motivation: Culturally Responsive teaching in college. New York University.

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Hollie, S. (2012). Culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning: classroom practices for student success Huntington Beach. Shell Education. Hymes, D. H. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics. Selected Readings (pp. 269–293). Penguin. King, N. (1993). Storymaking and drama: An approach to teaching language and literature at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Heinmann. Kissau, S., Kolano, L.Q. & Wang, C. (2011) Motivation, race, and foreign language instruction: The need for culturally responsive teaching. The NECTFL Review, 39-59. Kramsch, C. (2009). The Multilingual Subject. Oxford University Press.

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Kuykendall, C. (2004). From rage to hope: Strategies for reclaiming Black and Hispanic students (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution tree Press. Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68. Spindlers, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.). (1994). Pathways to cultural awareness: Cultural therapy with teachers and students (p. xii). Corwin. Zirkle, S. (2008). The influence of multicultural educational practices on student outcome and intergroup relations. Teachers College Record, 110(6), 1147–1181.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Adaptive Teaching: Delivery of personalized learning experiences that address a student’s unique needs and weaknesses. Culturally Responsive Teaching: A teaching approach that connects what students learn in class with their ethnical and cultural background. Culture: The unique way of life of a group of people which encompasses religion, language, behavior, communication style, food, music, and art. Equity: The ability to be fair and impartial towards people. It is a crucial quality for any instructor who wants to foster a welcoming environment in the classroom. Interculturality: Relationships between groups of people belonging to different ethnicities and with diverse cultural backgrounds. Multiculturalism: The peaceful co-existence of groups of people with diverse cultures, religion, and lifestyles. Storytelling: The art of telling tales and a great tool to teach language incorporating culture.

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I am referring to the atrocious incidents of the police killing of Black citizens in the United States, specifically in 2020 (i.e., the death of George Floyd). BLM henceforth. Some ways to show acceptance in the classroom are: 1) talk about it with your students. Show them educational videos and explain the importance of being a cohesive group and working in harmony. 2) Celebrate differences: for example, you could invite students to share their holidays and have a little celebration in class. Or you could have an ‘international day’ during which students can bring ethnic food or dress in their traditional attire. 3) Allow students to use their traditional ‘greeting etiquette’ when entering the class. For these interviews I rely on my friends and family in Italy who work with immigrants or have friends who are immigrants and have had hard time being accepted. The interviews happen via Skype or Zoom. Another resource I would like to explore in the future is to contact emergent immigrant writers and singers and invite them to speak to my students.

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This activity should be done at the start of the semester and can be done in all language classes from elementary to advanced. In lower levels can be done in English; in upper levels should be done in the target language. Martin, D., & Smolcic, E. A. (2019). Redefining teaching competence through immersive programs: Practices for culturally sustaining classrooms. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/9783-030-24788-1 For more on collaboration and interaction see Graham, C., Cagiltay, K., Lim, B., Craner, J., & Duffy, T. (2001). Seven principles of effective teaching: A practical lens for evaluating online courses. The Technology Source. Retrieved from http://www.technologysource.org/article/seven_principles_of_effective_teaching/; Yvonne Y.H. Fung* (2004) Collaborative online learning: interaction patterns and limiting factors, Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 19:2, 135-149, DOI: 10.1080/0268051042000224743 ; SA Barab, MK Thomas, H Merrill, Online Learning: From Information Dissemination to Fostering Collaboration. Jl. of Interactive Learning Research (2001) 12(1), 105-143. For peer teaching, I select a stronger student who would act as a tutor and a weaker one who would act as a pupil. I provide the tutor with a very basic lesson plan, and then I give them about 20 minutes to work together. When the time is up, the pupil will report on what s/he has learned. Peer teaching can also happen outside the class, and in that case, students will meet in the Student Center and need to create a report of their meeting. In an online class this exercise could be done by using break-out rooms or by having students meet separately and record their sessions. Virtually any assignment can have different modes of submission. For example, when I ask students to reflect on a reading or a video/movie we have watched in class, I give them the possibility to choose. They can write a 1-page response, create a 10-minute video or VoiceThread to fulfill the assignment. Also, for the online Discussion board, they can either write or record a voice comment. Even for the final project (which is separate from the final exam), I choose. They can either create a multimedia presentation/project or write a traditional paper (for elementary courses, it is a 1-page essay; for the advanced courses is a 2-3 pages essays).

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Chapter 8

Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis:

Poetry as a Humanistic Practice Jawad Golzar https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0268-391X Herat University, Afghanistan Mir Abdullah Miri https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7392-3277 Herat University, Afghanistan

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ABSTRACT Meaningful literacy has tremendous yet untapped potential to engage language learners in signifcant ways. This study explored the EFL students’ poetry writing in terms of gender, poetic features use, degree of emotionality, language learning, and therapeutic efects. During the times of global crisis, the researchers recruited two EFL students who had a meaningful literacy project as a course requirement. After analyzing the two poetic pieces considering linguistic measures, the two participants were interviewed to investigate students’ reported experiences with writing poetry. The analysis revealed that the participants expressed positive attitudes toward poetry writing as it helped them share their inner thoughts and feelings despite sociocultural constraints. It was also found that poetry writing helped the participants improve their target language, feel emotionally relieved, serving as psychological therapy. The study proposed several pedagogical implications related to L2 expressive pedagogy that can be incorporated into second writing education curriculums.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch008

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

INTRODUCTION

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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed education. Teachers are required to teach online to maintain education systems. On the other hand, students have been challenged by the use of digital media for writing (Alawdat, 2020), and they have struggled with intense anxiety, fear, and frustration. Literature as a social practice (Allington & Swann, 2009) and creative writing as a suitable classroom task (Smith, 2013) play an intermediary role to support students’ learning during the psychological trauma, provide them space for expressing themselves freely, and making meaningful connections with their lived experiences. Smith (2013) claimed that creative writing could respond to the language learning process’s main challenges by opening up opportunities to work on form and vocabulary used in a meaningful way. Following Kim’s (2018) argument, poetry writing is often used in creative writing studies. Poetry writing as an expressive genre is valued because it empowers writers to express their inner thoughts and emotions. It also allows writers to incorporate their personal endeavors and experiences into their texts (Lida, 2012). This is a response to dehumanized language classrooms (Kramsch, 2006). Thus, there is an exigency facing teachers to explore and highlight “the tangible benefits” of expressive poetic writing in the context of second language studies (Hergenrader, 2016, p. 5). Kim and Park (2019) claimed that integrating poetry writing into second language teaching improves students’ understanding and individual expressions. “On a deep level, every human being wishes to express and explore the meaning of their own lives” (Hanauer, 2012, p. 112). The expressive discourse can also be ideologically empowering as the “self” moves from innermost and unvoiced meaning to shared meaning, leading to a particular behavior at the end (Kinneavy, 1971). According to Burnham and Powell (2014), “personal is rhetorical, a site of invention and a catalyst for change” (p. 119). Some researchers (Iida, 2020; Shen et al., 2018; Kim, 2018; Iida, 2016; Alharfi, 2015) have conducted empirical studies to investigate how ESL/EFL learners’ express emotions of fear through poetry writing or the experiences of L2 students writing autobiographical poetry in English. However, English learners in Afghanistan are often considered recipients of literary texts; they read the poem but never write in the poetry genre (Miri, 2016). The current study of L2 expressive writing in times of global crisis was also conducted in Afghanistan, where no study exists to specifically explore the students’ L2 poetic writing. Afghan English teachers had to transform their traditional face-to-face courses into online classes during the disruptive time (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic), share the courses’ content in digital format, and implement a suitable instructional design. Overall, they explore every possibility of engaging their students in different meaningful literacy practices, such as writing poetry. However, online and in-class teaching differs in terms of “how teachers design their lessons and the type of tasks that students need to do” (Alawdat, 2020, p. 94).

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This study investigates how male and female adult EFL college students express their emotions through L2 writing poetry during the times of crisis and how the practice contributes to their language learning. The authors will specifically investigate: •

How do Afghan EFL students express themselves through L2 poetry writing during the times of global?

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•

What textual and literary characteristics have they used in their poems?

This study is significant due to numerous reasons. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no published research exploring EFL/ESL learners’ emotions through writing poetry during the pandemic. Second, it opens avenues for pedagogical approaches for L2 writing. It also adds to the body of literature on integrating poetic writing into the L2 curriculum. It helps teachers of English by responding to the call for understanding how the use of expressive poetic writing and rhetoric spurs critical awareness among L2 learners during times of global crisis. There is a cultural assumption in Afghanistan that poetry writing is an inner talent, and the participants might show resistance toward expressing themselves in emotional writing about the pandemic (Shukri, 2014). The implications of this can be implemented into various contexts worldwide because the findings are not exclusively bound to the Afghan context; the authors will provide practical guidelines for expressive poetic writing into L2 teaching and curricula.

LITERATURE REVIEW The global crisis has dramatically changed literacy’s demarcations. Literacy encompasses a wide range of abilities to recognize, make sense of materials, and communicate the meaning in daily life, opposed to its traditional view of the ability to read and write. In language education, teachers facilitate the meaningmaking process and support students to better understand the world around them. Hanuaer (2012) noted,

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This individualized making of sense through physically embodied representational and symbolic resources makes us present to ourselves in our environments. From a philosophical perspective, our individualized sense-making is who we are and how we experience and understand the world. Basically, to be human means to make meaning of the world we live in (p. 107). Hanauer’s (2012) meaningful literacy approach is fundamentally grounded on deeper understanding and positioning of language learners within the learning process. He addressed each language learner as a socio-culturally contextualized person with a wealth of wide and valuable personal experience. Moreover, he argued that the students’ inner worlds affect their teachers’ pedagogical decisions. Besides, Hanauer (2012) and Pishghadam et al. (2013; 2016) maintained that language learning develops how a student views, construes, senses, and expresses his or her personally meaningful insights to a larger audience. Besides, he considered language learning as a process that engages meaningful interactions with constituents of personal experience, identity and self-image. He further argued that teachers should persistently attempt to explore ways to make language learning a meaningful, contextualized and individualistic activity for students. This process includes incorporating “the language learner’s memory, experiences, feelings, beliefs, history, and social environment” (Hanauer, 2012, p. 109). In this sense, language learners are empowered when they express their personal experiences and emotional state in a second language. They gradually shape a positive perception of the language they possess and are expressed in. Learning transfer is about the effects that a person’s learning in a context has over his/her performance and learning in another context (Bigge & Shermis, 1992). In this respect, literacy transfer theory supports-poetic writing which contributes to developing specific literacy skills that can be transferred in other forms of writing in second language learning (Hanauer, 2011). For example, Iida (2012) conducted 133

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

research to explore the effects of poetic writing on academic prose. The study revealed that a significant fluctuation existed in the use of linguistic features when comparing the results of pre-and post-tests. It showed that poetic writing positively influenced learners’ writing performance in the post-argumentative essay. Iida (2011) also explored the poetic identity of college students when writing English Haiku. The research revealed that the learners expressed their voices in the poems by reflecting their emotional concerns when they thought about their lived experiences. Exploring the extent of literacy transfer, some literacy skills were found to transfer very little. However, identifying letter-sound relationships and the basic vocabulary is transferred without any difficulty than mindful strategies (Mikulecky et al., 1994). The main rationale for teaching a specific genre is to allow students to understand the rules of the game and how to play it (Devitt, 2014). Thus, literary genres are essential to support L2 students in promoting their English language literacy skills. However, Kramsch (2006) stated that the learning process is decontextualized, and the learner is not counted as an individual human being with a wealth of lived experiences in language classrooms. In that respect, Hanauer (2010) suggested that teachers could humanize EFL/ESL teaching spaces by reconsidering every individual language learner as the most important participant in the learning process. Similarly, Alharfi (2015) found that ESL students perceived writing poetry as an effective activity that places students in the language learning process center. Hanauer (2010) noted, “learning a language is a significant, potentially life-changing event. It is also an event that involves the whole human being, beyond just intellectual abilities” (p. 105). In a similar vein, exploring the students’ figurative language use, Kramsch (2009) argued that subjectivity plays a significant role in language learning, engrossing students artistically and emotionally in a set of cognitively demanding tasks. For instance, Hanauer (2020) examined ways of addressing the effects of family loss and traumatic events related to Holocaust through a poetic autoethnography task. Such meaningful literacy created a model to explore challenging personal events. According to Yang (2020), life writing as meaningful literacy empowered EFL students to develop agentive writer identities such as enhancing their self-efficacy, establishing forming a new writing habit, and honing this type of writing skill.

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This study’s scope is limited to exploring emotionality exclusively and poetic features suggested by Hanauer (2010), as well as intervention therapy and scaffolding L2 Learning. This framework narrowed the focus to investigate emotionality parameters, poetics features, therapeutic effects, and L2 learning support in the poetic texts and used to create the interview protocol. Emotionality is the most appealing component of L2 expressive writing, especially during a global crisis or a disruptive event. Poetry embraces the writers’ emotional responses to an experience. L2 Poetic writing is an effective approach to understand, observe, and witness a problem (Hanauer, 2012). Iida (2016) argued that L2 poetry writing offers tremendous potentials to explore traumatic events as learners reflect their emotional responses about their traumatic experiences, communicate their feelings, and add their voices to the poetic piece. Therefore, poetic writing empowers L2 learners to ponder deeply, reconstruct noteworthy personally emotional events, and grasp the meaning of specific life experiences. Alharfi (2015) found that most EFL students in his study reported positive readiness to express and reflect their personal feelings when writing a poetic piece. “This willingness was challenged by the inherited poetry writing rules and by the culturally situated assumptions, such as the notion that poetry writing is an innate gift, and poetry writing has rules that should be respected” (p. 1). Some students also find 134

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

poetry writing difficult to express their extremely emotional stories meaningfully, exercising a sense of ownership and authorship (Alharfi, 2015; Alosaimi, 2014). Addressing this issue, Iida (2016) suggested that it will be effective if teachers grant students the freedom to select the topics when writing poetry. Emotionality is grounded on and expressed through creative use of poetic devices.

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Figure 1. Poetry writing analysis framework

Another concept employed in our conceptual framework is poetic feature. Hanauer (2010), within the L2 poetry corpus in his study, found that L2 advanced writers had enough aptitude to use poetic features to explore and express their personal feelings and experience. The corpus study revealed that imagery, especially the visual type, is the most frequently used poetic feature that L2 students developed when writing a poem. It also revealed that “shortness of the poems and easiness of the vocabulary does not inhibit the presence of poetic features, personally significant topic, or presence of expressed emotion” (Hanaeur, 2010, p. 52). The use of some poetic features has some effects on the cognitive process of information. For instance, alliteration improves memory recall (Lea et al., 2008). Taken all together, poetic use of language enhances learners’ motivation and supports vocabulary learning (Sandhaug, 2018) and expressive writing, in general, can decrease stress level and improve mental and physical wellbeing (Pennebaker, 2018). Poetry writing, therefore, offers great potentials to release emotional tensions; brings about therapeutic effect in shaping mood (Hancı-Azizoglu & Alawdat, 2020; Czernianin, 2016). Iida (2020) stated, “it may be so unfortunate, but nowadays more and more people all over the world experience and suffer from traumatic events ... it dramatically changes their lives and trauma caused by such accidents stays longer in their hearts” (p. 13). Poetry writing can be served as an intervention therapy in a disruptive time (Hancı-Azizoglu & Alawdat, 2020). Poetry therapy is “the use of language, symbol and story in therapeutic, educational, and community-building capacities” (Mazza, 2012, p. 1434). Pennebaker and Chung (2011) argued that expressive writing on personal experience produces more positive psychophysiological upshots than writing about an impersonal subject matter. “This identity is of great importance because mainly on it the therapeutic effect rests” (Czernianin, 2016, p. 135). Besides this effect, DiMenichi et al. (2019) indicated that the tendency to write about specific past traumatic experiences may have led to fluctuations in neural activation during the learning process.

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

Considering the above potentials, Lorenz (2020) explored the connection between the Concept of Poetry Therapy and its actual practice. She studies the advantages of the Creative Interactive Poetry Therapy Model (CIPT) within a group-based intervention program for students’ wellbeing and empowerment. The process requires students to write a poem, read it aloud in the group, and then share the feedback. The study revealed that this process is effective for learners since the poems express inner feelings and the soul and influence both readers and listeners, supporting students’ wellbeing and expanding their self-understanding and worldview. Poetic writing is considered a literacy practice, intended to provide necessary scaffolding to meaningful and real-life experiences for L2 learners (Hanauer, 2014). “Ultimately, learning a language is about widening one’s expressive resources and positioning oneself in a multicultural and multilingual world. In this sense, poetry writing encourages multilingual writers to focus on a particular experience, creates an anxiety-free and safe niche, and develops meta-cognitive processes and insights over the shared experiences (Travagin et al. 2015). “Poetry writing is also a simple way of achieving these aims and personalizing the language” (Hanauer, 2014, p. 114). Obied (2016) also investigated the language learning experiences of bilingual refugee students from Afghanistan and Somalia. He also examined the cross-cultural potentials that poetry offers for bilingual children. According to Obied (2016), poetry helped them use their lived experiences, express their emotions, bring their knowledge about the world in the classroom. Ultimately, Hancı-Azizoglu and Alawdat (2020) modeled, “[poetry] writing as an innovative method to use in educational and health settings to allow creating novel experiences into language learning phases” (p. 235). That being the case, meaningful literacy instructions can yield positive outcomes for both teachers and students. Cahnmann-Taylor and Hwang (2018) conducted research to explore qualities coupled with teacher identity’s poetic habits. They have used the term creative limitation by adding an ‘l’ to the beginning of imitation, making it (l)imitation. They claimed that imitating other poetic pieces limits creativity. Their study revealed that teachers exhibited creative (l)imitation, surprise, and dialogic collaboration. Creative (l)imitation enriches their identities associated with, evolving from their old poetic writings to shape a new prospect self as it asks for both imitating the others’ forms and providing creative limits, which encourages learners to find their own linguistic space. According to these authors, poetic writing cultivates surprising elements in second language learning. It positively transfers perceptions of language learning since learners played with words in poetic writing and astonish each other by exploring the links between “language, culture, and place.” Moreover, meaningful literacy instruction provides dialogic collaboration between teachers and students inside the classroom. Their study suggested that these qualities spur emotional and linguistic understandings, motivating teachers to recognize themselves as “co-learners” and collaborative decipherers of meaning. Putting all this together, poetry writing as a meaningful literacy practice may offer great potentials to have students express their emotions, use poetic features, improve L2 learning, and make meaning during times of global crisis. Therefore, the authors examine the ways L2 students expressed themselves using poetic features, degree of emotionality they exerted, and the perceived benefits of such writing in terms of language learning and emotional healing.

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METHODOLOGY Participants of the Study The participants in this study were two Afghan EFL students, Lida and Ali (pseudonyms), undergraduate English majors at Herat University, Afghanistan. Anonymization was significant in this research because the participants shared sensitive and personal information, so the researchers used pseudonyms to protect the identity of the participants. The participants took an online writing course, offered during the spring semester of 2020. The course was designed to develop college students’ meaningful literacy and creative writing skills. In the Afghan context, EFL students are given a passive role as recipients of poems rather than as active and creative writers of poetry due to the banking model of education (Miri, 2016). Using purposeful sampling, the researchers chose the two participants conveniently based on the study scope, the nature of the topic, research questions, and the timeline.

The Poetry Course Finding poetry as a useful mediatory tool to bring students’ innermost feelings up to the surface, the instructor, one of the researchers’ colleagues, integrated writing poetry into his writing course. He assigned his students to write a short poem to express their feelings about the pandemic and the trauma they or their close relatives were inflicted by. The instructor began with this prompt: I want you to return to the solitude of your personal room where you find the true yourself without the burden of social life tensions, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let the memories of the beloved, the significant other, the one you love pass through your mind. Use your mind’s eyes to see that person, his/her unique look, pain, distress, tinges of hope, and behold the situation, place, the panic, the illness, the monster. Now get the pen and put the words on the paper, use sensory descriptions (see, hear, taste, smell, touch), adjectives, the literary devices you learned to express your true emotions at the moment, describe your world, and picture these memories in words.

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Data Collection and Analysis The collected data in this research derives from students’ poetry writing and interviews. This research is also based on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative data focused on numeric results from Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. It allowed the researchers to depict the differences between the linguistic features each participant used to express his or her emotions through poetry. However, the qualitative data used in this research is based on interviews. It provided the authors with the opportunity to collect in-depth information about the participants’ reported experiences concerning expressing emotions through poetry during times of global crisis. The participants then were interviewed to explore how poetry writing as a meaningful literacy practice supported their L2 learning and led to psychological therapy in a disruptive time. The interview data was transcribed verbatim. The researchers used thematic analysis to code the data, compare codes, identify meaningful connections among them, and categorize them into salient themes.

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

Considering the framework Hanauer (2010) proposed in his book, entitled “Poetry as Research,” the researchers used textual and literary measures, particularly emotionality and poetic features. The poems’ emotionality is measured by a computational linguistic analysis website called the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). This linguistic analysis is limited to the following linguistic dimensions: personal pronouns (I, me, my), social words, positive emotions, negative emotions, and emotional tone. This analysis allowed the researchers to identify the emotive lexicons and the degree of intervention therapy extend. Furthermore, to identify the poetic features and compare gender expression, the researchers used textual analysis by careful readings of the poems in terms of meaning and literary devices. In order to ensure the trustworthiness of our research, the researchers used consensus and member checking. We shared a summary of the interview results with them to secure participant validation, seeking if they concurred with the interpreted results.

LINGUISTIC AND LITERARY ANALYSES OF THE POEMS This section presents the textual and literary analyses of the two poems. It specifically presents the degree of emotionality, poetic features, and students’ intended meaning. The two poetic pieces are about COVID-19 during the 2020 global pandemic, which drastically changed millions of students’ lives, especially the way they learn and caused emotional tensions. The participants expressed their emotions about relevant lived experience, incorporating poetic features as shown below.

Emotionality Use The two poetry pieces, by Lida and Ali, were analyzed by Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) 2015 software program to identify the degree of emotionality, personal and social levels. The linguistic analysis of the poem written by one of the female students showed the following results in percentile: I-Words (9.8), social words (4.9), positive emotions (3.7), negative emotions (4.5), and emotional tone (14.5). The poem was comprised of 245 words in total (see appendix 1). Lida’s poem shows her personal and most emotional moment she experienced during times of global crisis. She used first person pronouns and related adjectives twenty times in her poem. For instance, in the following lines, she repetitively used I-words: I supposed the situation would never cease

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There was a brief silence when I was alone in my room Then I started thinking about future Taking shelter in her solitude, Lida experiences the moment of frustration when pondering about this pandemic, and then she reflects upon how her life has changed dramatically and imagines what future holds for her and her family. Additionally, Lida incorporates some social words, including family, improvement, education, people, etc. in her poem because she tends to show the significance of such elements to build her life and understand her worlds. She also accommodates particular emotive lexicons to demonstrate positive and 138

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

negative emotions. She uses words such as life, peace, chance, shining, beauties, wealth, health, prayer, and hope for establishing positive feelings and moods. However, she demonstrates negative emotions by using words like dark, inconsolable, destroyed, perturbed, tired, feeble, darkest, trouble, wrecked, tragic, etc. The emotional tone driven from word choice, context, plot, and content was negative and sad, but it eventually changes to positive and optimistic at the end of the piece. Table 1 shows LIWC dimensions and the related percentile. Table 1. Linguistic analysis of the first poem LIWC Dimension

The First Poem

Average for Personal Writing

I-Words (I, Me, My)

9.8

8.70

Social Words

4.9

8.69

Positive Emotions

3.7

2.57

Negative Emotions

4.5

2.12

Emotional Tone

14.5

38.60

The linguistic analysis of the second poem, which was written by a male student, revealed the following results in percentile: I-Words (1.1), social words (6.5), positive emotions (4.3), negative emotions (8.7), and emotional tone (1). This poem was comprised of 88 words (see appendix 2). Ali’s poem demonstrates his deeply socioemotional standing over the issue of the pandemic in society. He uses only one possessive adjective at the end of his poem to shape the resolution he intended to propose (e.g., this changed my visage about the truth of life). He also uses several social words, such as world, people, power, home, bond, and life. Furthermore, negative lexicon use outweighs the positive one. Ali accommodates negative emotions by using words like seized, bewildered, senselessly, painfully, unnerved, descript, savagely, hurt, and so forth. Nonetheless, positive emotive lexicons include words such as dears, facilities, bonds, sweethearts, etc. Based on the content and word choice, the emotional tone used in Ali’s poem is serious. Table 2. Linguistic analysis of the second poem

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LIWC Dimension

The Second Poem

Average for Personal Writing

I-Words (I, Me, My)

1.1

8.70

Social Words

6.5

8.69

Positive Emotions

4.3

2.57

Negative Emotions

8.7

2.12

Emotional Tone

1.0

38.60

Comparing the two pieces in terms of degree of emotionality, personal and social levels, Lida sets and adopts a much higher emotional tone in her poem compared to Ali yet less than average value. It demonstrates the manifest of her feminine identity. However, the second poem had a much higher weight

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in expressing negative emotions (8.7). Considering the average for personal writing, the two poems gained higher values in positive and negative emotions. Personal words level is also comparatively high in the first poem, whereas social words percentile is higher in the second poem. In this sense, Lida expresses her personal feelings toward the trauma more, but Ali gives vent to his inner thoughts less reflectively as he geared them toward connecting to and addressing societal issues.

Poetic Features Use The two poems were carefully read and analyzed in terms of meaning and literary devices. The study found that Lida tries to develop a simple plot in the first poem, a transfer from distress to hope and ends with a resolution. For instance, Lida starts the poem by presenting the settings as “dark and inconsolable” during times of global crisis and infusing a sad mood. For instance, in her poem, she wrote, “the virus has come and destroyed our life,” “perturbed the human soul,” and “feel like being in a hole.” She demonstrates that the virus has a destructive effect on her life and the lives of others, bothers all the people who harbored horrible feelings of being entrapped and that they are not able to escape. Lida then expresses her feelings about the problem and how she is terrified of being diagnosed as a suspect to COVID-19. She wrote, My illness suddenly became more serious It was the darkest time, I couldn’t endure Luck was a chance, but trouble was sure Eventually, Lida resolves the issue by praying and maintain a positive attitude. She wrote, Finally, I could defeat the virus by prayer and hope I got to be positive and didn’t say nope Now, I try not to think about stupid stuff

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Observing hygiene might be enough. This participant also uses several literary devices to bring about a pointed and distinct effect, transfer the key message, and support readers’ comprehension on a deeper level. For example, she uses personification and added the attribution of a personal characteristics to something non-human. The pandemic is personified as an armed enemy who destroyed education and improvement in line 8: “Annihilate education and improvement.” The writer also uses a metaphor comparing herself to a wrecked ship and about to be drowned by stormy waves in line 16: “[I]was looking wrecked and turbulent.” However, Ali, the other participant, began with quick exposition, infusing a sense of danger using alliteration “An evil came suddenly, seized the split world seamlessly.” The repetition of /S/ sound puts forward the image of a snake hissing in this line, and it connotes threat and trick. In line 3, the writer personifies the disease as a snake creeping slowly and dragging all the loved ones deep in water. It demon140

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

strates a horrible image of losing family members and friends. Similarly, in line 5, greed is personified as an auctioneer who voraciously increases prices in society. He indirectly shows the authorities, companies, traders, salespersons boosted the prices unreasonably. The student then contradicts and uses oxymoron to demonstrate a rhetorical point, “unnerved wits.” He criticizes the socioeconomic conditions and the pandemic aftermath. The student then personifies home as an older person who is very feeble, unable to function well. He also expresses that family relationships are dreadfully and drastically affected by the pandemic. Ultimately, he has an immediate resolution at the end of his poem, indicating his view toward life’s truth changed to a modest one. In this line, he uses assonance to add a musical effect and emphasize the meaning. He resolves the issue by modifying his belief toward the real meaning of human existence: to be humble, harmless, good-hearted humans alike.

Perceptive Analysis Towards L2 Poetry Writing This section presents the qualitative findings that emerged from the interview data. The study revealed that both participants have positive perceptions of writing L2 poetry. They reported that everyone can be a poet. For example, Ali argued, “poetry writing is not an inner talent. It is a skill and we all can be skilled at it if we want and practice.” He added that treating writing as a skill can encourage individuals to write poetry. Similarly, Lida asserted that writing poetry is achievable if the writers do not see themselves confined to conventional literary terms and styles. According to Lida, “poetry is not a difficult and fixed genre, which requires writers to use particular diction, length and format” (Personal Communication, September 18, 2020). She pointed out that, unlike many of her former high school teachers, she thinks that L2 poetry writing does not require the writers to follow specific rules. Besides, both of the participants argue that whether the readers consider their writing as poetry or not they are proud of the poems because they feel a sense of ownership. Ali even stated, “I’m proud of my poem and I’m ready to sing it like a song” (Personal Communication, September 19, 2020).

Cultural Constraints and Expressing Emotions Ali, the male participant in our study, argued that expressing emotions is not common among men in Afghanistan. He reported:

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Expressing emotions for men is mostly girlish in my context. I did not write my poem in a way that the readers recognize my identity as a male, as a man, and as an Afghan because if they identify, it may depict my weaknesses. Instead, I tried to direct the readers’ attention to consider developing countries in general. (Personal Communication, September 19, 2020) On the other hand, Lida did not hide her identity in her poem. She not only wrote a longer poem but also used a more first-person point of view. She has intentionally used words, such as my family, feeble, mom, prayer, and God to depict her gender identity, religious identity, and cultural identity.

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L2 Poetry for Leveraging Language Learning Both participants claimed that writing poetry can help them improve their language skills, especially grammar and vocabulary. Lida stated that she had to look up different words in the dictionary when she wanted to figure out what rhyming word to use in her poem. She stated, “In addition to checking the correct pronunciation of the words, I had to pay attention to their meaning and use, which boosted my vocabulary size” (Personal Communication, September 18, 2020). However, Ali did not find himself so much engaged with rhyming because he said not all poems should have rhymes (Personal Communication, September 19, 2020). Besides, the female participants stated, “Because students need to think about the different grammatical structures while writing poetry, this cognitive process contributes to improving their writing skill” (Personal Communication, September 18, 2020). According to her, in her case, she had to think about the different sentences to types she needs for writing her poem.

Poetry Writing for Improving Students’ Mental Wellbeing The results showed that expressing feelings toward COVID-19 through poetry helped the participants to feel relieved. Ali stated that because he had no one to share his words and feelings regarding the pandemic, writing the poem allowed him to present his emotions and feel better. The female participants also claimed: When I started writing the poem, I didn’t know that I would feel better by the end of my poem. I think it was because while writing the poem, I had to think logically about this trauma. As a result, with trust in God, I felt better, overcame my stress, and resolved my unintended fear. (Personal Communication, September 19, 2020)

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Additionally, the participants stated that poetry writing allowed their voices to be heard. For example, Ali related poetry writing to confiding to close friends. He noted, “poetry writing is similar to imparting secrets trustfully.” Thus, he could express his emotions of fear, anxiety and loneliness toward the traumatic incident. The results also yielded that the participants showed resilience both in their poems and mentioned in their interviews. For instance, Ali pointed out that he resolved the issue by transforming his self-perception and worldview to a humble and harmless human being. Likewise, the female participant sought support and inspiration from a spiritual source and her personal endeavor.

DISCUSSION The two poems’ linguistic analysis indicates that the female student crafted a more personal viewpoint using “I, Me, My” pronouns a lot, setting a more emotional tone than her male counterpart. She also adapted a lengthy narrative style to express her personal experience, begin with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. In a similar vein, females are more prone to be emotionally responsive and sensitive to be influenced by environmental factors and possess great potentials to bring their inner emotions and thoughts to the surface, resulting in having greater impacts on female participants compared to their male counterparts (Seipp & Schwarzer, 1996; Zeidner, 1998). On the contrary, 142

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Shen et al. (2018) found that expressive writing is beneficial for both female and male students regardless of gender. Besides, Reinhold et al. (2018) noted that expressive writing would be more productive if implemented more extensively and more focused intervention. Moreover, they found that older and female participants got more advantage from such an intervention. However, Ali used a short-condensed form to express his personal understanding of the subject matter, covering up his emotions through alteration and metaphors, less use of personal words, and more social ones. This finding is consistent with the ideas of Shen et al. (2018) who claimed that the socialization processes often impact the way males manage their emotions. Following such condensed poetry, writing style demonstrates that free gender expression is hindered by sociocultural dispositionality dictated to a man in the Afghan context. The public also views the free expressions of emotions by men as taboo. If men do, they would be subject to humiliation; therefore, they suppress and do not communicate their personal feelings in daily talks so often (Alharfi, 2015). Both participants in our study express a positive attitude toward poetry writing in English language. This finding corroborates the idea of Hanauer (2012), who states, “the moment when you express your innermost thoughts and experiences in a second language is a powerful one, and one that can qualitatively change a student’s perception of the new language that they are using” (p. 110). These two students’ L2 writing poetry negates “the perception that only professional, accomplished and first language English speakers write poetry” (p. 111). Students’ perception of the quality of a written poem, its emotionality and the instructor’s positive response influence students’ artistic evaluation of their piece and others’ (Hauer & Hanauer, 2017). According to Alharfi (2015), when ESL/EFL students are asked to write a poem, they feel they are translating their own emotions from their native language to the target language. The participants in his study also noted that lack of vocabulary and choosing appropriate lexical items to express their feelings made it difficult to write poetry in the English language.

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CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that writing poetry leverages English language learning in different ways. First, students have to look up the dictionary; find appropriate words when they want to incorporate poetic features. According to Alharfi (2015), “this lack of vocabulary knowledge could be an opportunity for language teachers who want to use poetry writing as a means of developing students’ [vocabulary knowledge]” (p. 74). Moreover, using language in a poetic way supports students’ vocabulary learning (Sandhaug, 2018). Obied (2007) also argues that it is important for students to learn the natural rhythms used in the target language and know poetry writing. Second, the two EFL students in this study had to think of grammatical structures, so such an effort improves their writing skills. This form of creative writing provides ample opportunities for learners to improve their knowledge of language form (Smith, 2013) and writing craft and reflective skills (Cronin & Hawthorne, 2019). Additionally, “The bilingual students’ writing shows their growing ability to make connections between sound and sense and be able to write ‘in tune’ with a text” (Obied, 2007, p. 50). This study also shows that writing poetry could help EFL students feel relieved during times of crisis. They both search for the sources to soothe their fears and anxiety while demonstrating resilience. However, if this internal drive to write a poem is loaded by engaging in a communication forum and developing emotions, it is more beneficial than just writing. It helps the poets feel relaxed and provides social support as they connect to others in the community (Alvarez & Mearns, 2014). Similarly, Rick143

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 Second Language Expressive Writing in Times of Global Crisis

ett, Greive, & Gordon (2011) found that their “participants responded enthusiastically, and each group demonstrated an increase in wellbeing over the course of their workshop, moving them from medium to low risk on the K10, [Kessler Psychological Distress Scale]. Participants enjoyed the challenge of writing and the companionship of other group members” (p. 265).

Pedagogical Implications for L2 Writing Education Exploring EFL/ESL students’ poetry writing, the emotionality and poetic features, the effects of such intervention on students’ mental wellbeing, the study proposes several pedagogical implications for teachers and policymakers. First, it will be more effective if teachers incorporate expressive writing tasks, such as poetry writing into their writing curriculum since EFL/ESL students can find a magical space to express their voices and emotions (Miri & Hung 2020), especially during times of crisis or a traumatic event. This meaningful literacy task can be done through writing and bonding with others when sharing their poetic pieces and interpretation. It helps them find a balance in their daily lives, a convenient and economically suitable method anywhere, even without a psychological counselor (Shen et al. 2018). Second, writing poetry provides a golden opportunity for teachers to make the learning process meaningful for the students in an under-resourced context and connect the existing expressive tasks and materials to their lived experiences. Simultaneously, it helps students negotiate to mean enthusiastically and improve their English language skills (word knowledge, grammar, writing, etc.). Finally, after incorporating poetry writing in L2 writing education, the teachers can also create a corpus that helps verify hypotheses about language use and paralinguistic features such as culture, values, and emotions. Moreover, it serves as a rich resource for studying and analyzing poetry.

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LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Considering our study’s purpose and the nature of our research questions, this study’s results cannot be generalized to a larger population. Besides, the study has a few limitations. First, the current study merely examined the emotionality and poetic features used in the poem, while there are rooms to examine the poems from different perspectives. Future researchers can explore more textual and literary characteristics of a poem, such as lexical frequency profile, lexical category, thematic organization, and text size (see Hanaeur, 2010). Other researchers could also explore the meaningful relationship between the two constructs of intervention therapy and scaffolding L2 learning. Furthermore, in our study, we did not investigate the different poetry writing stages, which warrant further investigation. Finally, due to some sociocultural constraints in the Afghan community, the male participant did not express his emotions freely resulting in writing a comparative shorter poem which to some degree limited a thoroughly linguistic analysis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This research was supported by Herat University, Afghanistan, and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

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Devitt, A. (2014). Genre. In G. Tate, A. R. Taggart, K. Schick, & H. B. Hessler (Eds.), A guide to composition pedagogies (pp. 146–162). Oxford University Press. DiMenichi, B. C., Ceceli, A. O., Bhanji, J. P., & Tricomi, E. (2019). Effects of expressive writing on neural processing during learning. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 389. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00389 PMID:31803032 Hanauer, D. I. (2010). Poetry as research: Exploring second language poetry writing. John Benjamins. doi:10.1075/lal.9 Hanauer, D. I. (2011). The scientific study of poetic writing. Scientific Study of Literature, 1(1), 79–87. doi:10.1075sol.1.1.08han

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Mikulecky, L., Albers, P., & Peers, M. (1994). Literacy transfer: A review of the literature (Technical Report TR 94-05). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, National Center on Adult Literacy. Miri, M. A. (2016). Integrating writing activities in the English Department literature courses at an Afghan university (Master’s thesis, Indiana University of Pennsylvania). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Miri, M. A., & Hung, B. P. (2020). Contextualizing second language writing in literature courses: Locality of pedagogy for innovative practices. In E. B. Hanci-Azizgolu & N. Kavakli (Eds.), Futuristic and linguistic perspectives on teaching writing to second language students (pp. 287–306). IGI Global. Obied, V. (2007). ‘Why did I do nothing?’ Poetry and the experiences of bilingual pupils in a mainstream inner-city secondary school. English in Education, 41(3), 37–52. doi:10.1111/j.1754-8845.2007.tb01163.x

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Pishghadam, R., Adamson, B., & Shayesteh, S. (2013). Emotion-based language instruction (EBLI) as a new perspective in bilingual education. Multilingual Education, 3(9), 1–16. doi:10.1186/2191-5059-3-9 Pishghadam, R., Jajarmi, H., & Shayesteh, S. (2016). Conceptualizing sensory relativism in light of emotioncy: A movement beyond linguistic relativism. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 4(2), 11–21. Reinhold, M., Bürkner, P. C., & Holling, H. (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms— A meta‐analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), e12224. doi:10.1111/cpsp.12224 Rickett, C., Greive, C., & Gordon, J. (2011). Something to hang my life on: The health benefits of writing poetry for people with serious illnesses. Australasian Psychiatry, 19(3), 265–268. doi:10.3109/103 98562.2011.562298 PMID:21682627 Sandhaug, C. (2018). “Ten fat sausages”: Poetic sense units, vocabulary chunks, and language acquisition in young learners. In S. L. Kleppe & A. Sorby (Eds.), Poetry and Pedagogy across the Lifespan: Disciplines, Classrooms, Contexts (pp. 187–209). Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90433-7_10 Seipp, B., & Schwarzer, C. (1996). Cross-cultural anxiety research: A review. Stress, Anxiety, and Coping in Academic Settings, 13-68. Shen, L., Yang, L., Zhang, J., & Zhang, M. (2018). Benefits of expressive writing in reducing test anxiety: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese samples. PLoS One, 13(2), e0191779. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0191779 PMID:29401473 Shukri, N. A. (2014). Second language writing and culture: Issues and challenges from the Saudi learners’ perspective. Arab World English Journal, 5(3), 190–207. Smith, C. (2013). Creative writing as an important tool in second language acquisition and practice. The Journal of Literature in Language Teaching, 2, 12–18. Travagin, G., Margola, D., & Revenson, T. A. (2015). How effective are expressive writing interventions for adolescents? A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 42–55. doi:10.1016/j. cpr.2015.01.003 PMID:25656314 Zeidner, M. (1998). Test anxiety: The state of the art. Springer Science & Business.

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ADDITIONAL READING Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338–346. doi:10.1192/apt.11.5.338 Chan, Z. C. (2017). Poetry writing and artistic ability in problem-based learning. International Journal on Disability and Human Development: IJDHD, 16(1), 37–44. doi:10.1515/ijdhd-2016-0003 Fisher, T. (2017). Writing not writing: Poetry, crisis, and responsibility. University of Iowa Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt20q247r

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Hanauer, D. I. (2021). Mourning writing: A poetic autoethnography on the passing of my father. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 37–44. doi:10.1177/1077800419898500 Lepore, S. J., & Smyth, J. M. (2002). The writing cure: How expressive writing promotes health and emotional wellbeing. American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10451-000 Patrick, L. D. (2016). Found poetry: Creating space for imaginative arts-based literacy research writing. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 65(1), 384–403. doi:10.1177/2381336916661530 Pennebaker, J. W. (2018). Expressive writing in psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 226–229. doi:10.1177/1745691617707315 PMID:28992443 Peskin, J., & Ellenbogen, B. (2019). Cognitive processes while writing poetry: An expert-novice study. Cognition and Instruction, 37(2), 232–251. doi:10.1080/07370008.2019.1570931 Wilson, A., & Dymoke, S. (2017). Towards a model of poetry writing development as a socially contextualised process. Journal of Writing Research, 9(2), 127–150. Yang, S. (2020). Meaningful literacy and agentive writer identity. MEXTESOL Journal, 44(4), 1–15.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Emotionality: It is a measure to assess someone’s degree of emotions toward a stimulus. Emotions: A natural intuitive feeling driving from an individual’s interactions with various sources. Expressive Writing: It is a writing genre that encourage students to express their inner thoughts and emotions. Meaningful Literacy: The ability that one can make sense of things using personal resources in surround environment. Poetic Features: The literary components that writer can incorporate to write a poem such as imagery, rhyme, metaphor, alliteration, etc. Poetry: A literary work which allows writers to express their feelings and ideas in an aesthetic style. Wellbeing: The state of feeling and experiencing a high quality of life.

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APPENDIX 1 Lida’s Poem It’s a dark and inconsolable time The virus has come and destroyed our life It perturbed the human soul We all feel like being in a hole I supposed the situation would never cease Disheartened and thought that there is no peace CORONA smeared the environment Annihilate education and improvement One day I felt so tired and feeble I had to study, but wasn’t able I wondered whether I was infected with the virus My illness suddenly became more serious It was the darkest time, I couldn’t endure Luck was a chance, but trouble was sure I was sitting at home brooding over it

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And was looking wrecked and turbulent It was a tragic time for my family They were frightened. And tried to help me I decided to keep quarantine myself Mom said you would be cured, don’t annoy thyself

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There was a brief silence when I was alone in my room Suddenly I heard a sound of gun like a boom! It made me feel afraid. And I was shivering I started looking at moon as it was shining Then I started thinking about future I was eager to see the beauties of nature I wondered why some people think about wealth When there is nothing more important than health Finally, I could defeat the virus by prayer and hope I got to be positive and didn’t say nope Now, I try not to think about stupid stuff Observing hygiene might be enough.

APPENDIX 2 Ali’s Poem An evil came suddenly, seized the split world seamlessly People bewildered and unaware of the epizootic senselessly

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As it slithers slowly, drown all the dears deeply As its power so high, some of us got it painfully The greed puts a hammer on the prices prissily Lack of the facilities, unnerved wits weatherly Jobs gone, homes decrepit, bonds hurt desperately

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Rich and poor both are served unwontedly The evil swallowed the sweethearts savagely This changed my visage about truth of life

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Be a humble, harmless, good-hearted human alike

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Chapter 9

A World in Crisis: It’s About Perspective, Students’ Perspective Sharon M. Virgil Bermuda College, Bermuda

ABSTRACT The author, a college composition teacher, recognizes we are living in a time of global crisis, fghting battles on two fronts. On the one hand, we are living in a period that sees us exposed to COVID-19, a pandemic that is threatening lives across the globe with no apparent end in sight. Then we have the social injustice that is racism rearing its vile and ugly head, resulting in the highlighting of the Black Lives Matter movement. Believing that freshman composition teachers are ideally positioned to encourage students to share their views on the crises that we are currently living through, this author uses a student-centered-book-writing pedagogy and asks her students to write a book on what they are burning to tell the world about COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement. In this article, the author shares excerpts of her freshman composition students’ writings and briefy discusses her student-centeredbook-writing pedagogy.

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INTRODUCTION Language is needed in order to communicate in any given society. The language used is born out of the community or society of people in which it functions. Wardhaugh (2010) rightly says that “language and society are not independent” (p.1). In other words, the language used in a given society will be a reflection of what is going on in that society. While people may share similar experiences, those experiences are not the same by virtue of the fact that we are all individuals with our own unique cultural baggage. Recently, the world as we know it has undergone, and continues to undergo, a global crisis. We have been forced to deal with two life changing critical issues: COVID 19 and Racism. As we attempt to navigate these times of crises we come to recognize that while we may all be experiencing these pandemics, our experiences are different. While we may all be in the same storm, we are certainly not in the same DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch009

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boat. Hence, our expression of these experiences will be radically different. Individual voices are always important, but in times such as these the need to hear these voices, these experiences, is more important because of the insight such voices may bring.

BACKGROUND Freshman Composition teachers should recognize the importance of students’ voices. It is no longer enough to have students reading articles from a Composition reader written by people whom they will probably never meet. Oftentimes students have no connection with the material they are reading, but they are still expected to make a connection and somehow write about it. As a Composition teacher I recognize that students will have their own individual stories to tell as a result of the global crises the world is faced with at this time. I don’t believe there is a Composition textbook that can adequately deal with the issues we are facing in our world today. The truth of the matter is that the stories about COVID 19 with all of its ramifications, or the stories about racism as experienced in 2020 can only be told by those who have lived it, by those who have experienced it. Such stories, when told by my students are important. The pedagogy I use in my Freshman Composition class affords students the opportunity to write and share their stories. Using a student-centered-book-writing pedagogy in my Freshman Composition class, my students are tasked with writing a book about what they are burning to tell the world. Usually, the topic they choose to write on is something that is solely up to them, it is their story, not fiction, but factual. However, in the wake of all of the turmoil that is currently plaguing our world I am interested in hearing their voices with regards to these specific changes in our society and in our world.

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THE SUPPORT FOR STORIES There are indeed many scholars who tout the value of stories, of letting students share their worlds through their stories in the Freshmen Composition classroom (Park 2011; Powell 2012; Gay 2010; Baumeister and Newman 1994; Atkinson 1998; Blitz and Hurlbert 1998; Pagnucci 2004). Park (2011) while involved in her “Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography Project” for her L2 students emphasized the importance of storytelling to her students’ learning and to their confidence. Because her students were able to “construct their own narratives” their confidence levels grew (p. 160). Powell (2012) stressed the importance of telling stories and said that we as Composition teachers need to rethink the way we do things. Composition teachers need to recognize the “multivocal knowledge” found in our students’ stories (p. 403). Gay (2010) posits that our students’ stories can be entertaining, educational, informative, evocative, and can share cultural and ethnic practices (p.3). Baumeister and Newman (1994) say that people tend to construct stories out of their experiences in order to understand their experiences (Abstract). Atkinson (1998) sees benefits is having students tell and read stories. Atkinson asserts, “We often think in story form, speak in story form, and bring meaning to our lives through story” (Op. cit. p.1). Composition professors, Blitz and Hurlbert’s (1998) book, Letters for the Living, showcases their students’ writings in the telling of their stories. Moreover, Pagnucci (2004) argues that “essayistic literacy is not the exclusive means by which one can create knowledge in the world, a view that is too often subscribed to within the ivory towers of academe” (p. 2). And he further adds that “we need to exchange stories with each other in order to make sense of our worlds” (Pagnucci, 2004 p. 3). In this 153

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time of crisis, it seems even more important that we as Composition teachers encourage our students to write their worlds, to share their stories. The world is experiencing trauma, and consequently many of our students are living in, and with, trauma. Writing can be a very useful tool at such as time as this. Brown (2018), Tyler (1999-2000) and Read (1998) are proponents of the cathartic nature of writing; they see writing as having the power to bring healing. In my Freshman Composition class, using a student-centered-book writing pedagogy, I encourage students to use their voice. My class, for the most, part follows a collaborative, workshop format. Within groups, usually of about 5-6 students, students write and share their stories, the stories of what they are burning to tell the world. Students are taught how to provide written feedback to their peers’ writing (see Appendix A). In their feedback, they are encouraged to say something positive (“I like . . . “), they are encouraged to probe (“I would like to know more about . . . “) and because students don’t like when they receive criticism from other students, I encourage them to ask questions, rather than tell a student what he/she should or should not do in their writing. Berthoff (1981) says, “One of the most useful things to learn about teaching writing, and thereby teaching critical thinking, is to learn to ask questions about meaning” (p. 115). Yes, critical thinking is a very important goal of education, or at least it should be, so I encourage my students to ask questions such as: How would it change your meaning if you deleted this? How would it change your meaning if you move this? How would it change your meaning if you developed this further? The reader has to think critically about the questions he/she will pose. To save on space, rather than have students write out “How would it change your meaning if you,” I have them use the abbreviation, “HWICYMIY,” when writing their responses. This question is intended to provoke thought in the writer. So rather than the student telling their peer to “change” something, they pose it as a question and leave it to the writer to determine whether or not he/she wants to change something. Students will only learn to write well if they write, and if they write a lot, but they are only going to write a lot if they are writing about something they enjoy, or at least something they feel connected to. I have a wonderful rapport with almost all of my students, but there is no denying that there is a generation gap between me and them. I cannot even pretend like I know their worlds. Postman and Weingartner (1969) assert, “Even the most sensitive teacher cannot always project himself into the perspective of his students, and he dare not assume that his perception of reality is necessarily shared by them” (p. 60). Because of this divide that separates me from my students, the best I can do is find a way to ask them to share their worlds with me, to tell me their stories of what they are burning to tell the world. First and foremost, I want them to write, so it seems to me that I have to allow them to choose their own topics, since they know what interest them. However, because of the turmoil that the world is currently experiencing, I would like to know what their thoughts are on this topsy turvy world. I decided to change my guidelines ever so slightly, to include more specific parameters, for this semester, Fall 2020. Instead of merely asking my students to write a book about what they are burning to tell the world, I asked them to write about what they are burning to tell the world about the pandemic/s that are enveloping our world. I want to know their views and feelings about what is going on in their world and I want to share my students’ voices as heard through their writings during such a time as this.

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THE PARTICIPANTS I work at Bermuda College, a small community college on the island of Bermuda, a little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of North Carolina. Our student body is largely reflective of our community which is predominantly black, with some Portuguese, Filipinos, West Indians and African students that make up our student body. The way that I chose my participants was simple. If you were a student in one of my Freshman Composition classes, and I taught two sections during the Fall 2020 semester, and if you were over the age of eighteen years old, then you were eligible to be a participant. It was important that I specify an age group because Bermuda College does have a Dual Enrolment program, which means that we have high school students who take college level courses simultaneously with their high school course requirements. These dual enrolment students would be underage, and as such, would not be allowed to be a participant in this project. I had about fifty students in my two sections of Freshman Composition; approximately twenty-five students in each section. I did offer them extra credit for their willingness to participate. Those who volunteered to be participants would be entitled to the extra credit, whether I used their work or not. All participants signed a consent form, and specified how, or if, they wanted to be recognized in my project. They had a choice of being identified by their first name only, or by a fictitious name. While I use names in my discussion, I do not indicate when the name is fictitious. Of the approximately fifty students in my two classes, I received sixteen consent forms in my MOODLE drop box. Fourteen of the students were female and two were male. One student (female) submitted a document that was unsigned, so I was unable to use her page. And another female student’s consent form was signed by her parents. As it turned out, she was a dual enrolment, thus making her ineligible for participation. Of the fourteen students remaining, four of the students’ writings had to be eliminated for one reason or another. One student, Crystal, did not address either of the topics at all. Instead of writing about either the COVID-19 pandemic or the Black Lives Matter movement, Crystal wrote about the ethnic cleansing of Uyghur Muslims in China. Another female student, Jenny, wrote a reflective piece on love and loss. While both Crystal and Jenny had interesting topics, neither had anything to do with the assignment. The ethnic cleansing of Uyghur Muslims and the pain of loving and losing, can certainly be defined at crisis situations, but they neglected to address the assignment, ‘what are you burning to tell the world about the COVID-19 pandemic or the Black Lives Matter movement’? And, how have either of these crisis events impacted them or their family? Then there was a male student, by the name of Taj, whose page was unusable. Taj started out with the idea that he was going to discuss the BLM movement, but instead he got caught up in a discussion about music. Specifically, Taj said that he wanted to “look at the Black Lives Matter movement from the prospective [sic] of a white rapper who doesn’t know what to say or how to support the cause.” Ultimately, though, Taj’s page veered off into a discussion about the lyrics of a song. Finally, there was the page written by Melody. Melody, as it turns out, is a L2 student. I’m not sure where she is from, as I haven’t had a chance to meet her face to face because, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are currently teaching remotely. Early in the semester, Melody sent me a message expressing reservations about being in the class because, as she said, her English is not that good. I told her that I’m sure that while she can learn a lot from being in the class, we as a class could learn a lot from her. I encouraged her to use her voice to speak, and to use her voice in her writing to tell her story. Melody, turned out to be far timider than I initially realized, as indicated by the fact that she never turned on her camera. Unfortunately, she submitted a page that was wholly plagiarized. She attempted to make a connection between the BLM movement and 155

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slavery, but the paper was more about slavery. Reading Melody’s page, I made a mental note to myself; Virgil, you must do what you can to reach Melody, to help her to be less fearful of using her own voice. Going forward, encourage her to tell her own story. I must be more aware of L2 students. While I was not able to use Melody’s page, her submission proved to be enlightening for me and it also allowed for an introduction between me and this student. When students, especially L2 students, who fear, or are not used to, using their voice, they may resort to speaking through another’s voice, with the result being plagiarism. As composition teachers we need to be more aware of these students.

STUDENTS’ VOICES As I read through my students’ pages, I was reminded of what Postman and Weingartner (1969) asserted so many years ago. Postman and Weingartner (Op. cit.) assert that no teacher should assume that they share their students’ perception (p. 60). I am older and have lived longer than my students, which of course means that my life experiences are much different. Yet, all too often we, as teachers, forget this disparity in age. We often forget this disparity when giving assignments. Here is the collection of my students’ voices. I have provided excerpts of each of the ten students’ writings and I have followed their excerpts with the brief comment that I wrote in response to their writing.

NASYA’S EXCERPT Nasya wrote about the injustices committed against blacks, injustices which ultimately led to the Black Lives Matter movement. She began her page with a few questions. “What is racial injustice? What and who determines that we as blacks are viewed as mongrels and incapable of mercy especially in the eyes of the law? What deciphers [sic] that we are less than and that we can be put down like animals?” These are questions that have plagued her over the “past months.” Nasya goes on the write:

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For far too long, blacks have been viewed as inferior and inadequate all because of the way that our melanated canvases are perceived by the world. For far too long, we have been scrutinized about the natural way our hair kinks and coils only for it to be called nappy and untamed. For far too long, we as blacks have had our culture stripped away only to be appropriated by those who see us as less than. And now, after far too long, we take a stand to protect our culture, communities, and most importantly our people. We refuse to be silenced as our black mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, and cousins are stripped away from this world while the truth about the heinous law enforcement is buried deep with them. Nasya touches on the George Floyd horror story, writing that he was just one of “hundreds if not thousands of black lives lost to the blood thirsty system. There are countless amounts of families who grieve just like his. There are countless amounts of daughters who are left to grow up without fathers just like Gianna Floyd. It pains me to even think that my father or mother could one day suffer the same fate.” However, Nasya concludes her page with a sense of hope. She writes, “While there is still much headway to be made, I can begin to envision a world where my future can be as limitless as I wish and I no longer have to fear such a racist system despite the tints and hues of my beautiful canvas.” In response 156

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to her page I wrote, “Naysa, clearly you have strong feelings about racism.” Because I don’t really hear her story, or her voice in personal experiences, I add in my response, “I would like to know how is this your story? How do you connect with it?” My hope is to get Nasya to think and make connection. Kityra also wrote about the Black Lives Matter movement.

KITYRA’S EXCERPT Kityra sees social media as being an important part in why we are seeing more incidents of violence against blacks, especially violence committed by law enforcement officers. Kityra writes:

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I must say that it is heartbreaking to watch people of your color being treated in the worse way possible. The way the world is set up, any day could be your last day being a black person, especially a black male living in America. The racists police have no intentions on seeing our beautiful black men live the life they are destined. They just want them to be underground, dead. My family and I have never experienced racism personally but this topic is something that means a lot. It has not impacted me in any way personally, but it impacts me in a way because I am black. Being black means a lot and being on social media shows a hefty number of things. . . . I always think about my dad or grandfather, if one of them was to run into trouble and unexpectedly the police was called, would it be their last day. I constantly find my myself thinking hard on this, which is a shame to say. The police brutality is not the only thing I worry about. It’s also about the racism that happen[s] much more frequently. No, you cannot change one’s opinion on something, but you can definitely change how you deal with it. In response, I wrote, “Kityra, I’m glad that neither you nor your parents have ever experienced racism. It’s difficult to explain something that we have never experienced. Yet, it should not stop us from trying to be understanding, from trying to be empathetic.” As I reflect on these two pieces of writings by my students, I realize how radically different they are from stories told by students of African American decent. But that difference makes sense considering they are not African Americans; they are Black Bermudians, but they are well aware of the BLM movement. Bermuda came together in a show of solidarity and marched for the Black Lives Matter movement. In fact, the government of Bermuda, recognizing the significance of the movement, actually granted permission for the march, during a period of lockdown. The turnout was massive. Blacks, whites, Portuguese, Filipinos, people of all colors and ethnicities came out in droves to march in support of the BLM movement, a movement that had reaches to every corner of the globe. The way we interact/react to this movement is based on perspective. The racism that it brought to the fore, was quite disturbing for me. On the other hand, while my students are aware of the movement, largely due to social media, they seem to be relatively cocooned from it all. Fortunately, we don’t see violence against blacks at the hands of law enforcement officers like that seen in the United States. I wonder why this is so. I spoke with Sociology Professor, Geoffrey Rothwell, regarding this issue. Rothwell teaches courses such as Crime and Delinquency and Social Inequalities at Bermuda College. The answer is not a simple one, Rothwell said. There are several reasons why we don’t see the same type of police behavior in Bermuda as we do in the United States. For one, he asserts that the make-up of our police force correlates with our general population, meaning that the majority of the police force is black. We are also a small community with a population of just over 60,000. This means that most of the time the police officer is 157

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likely to know the person with whom they are involved. Also, we don’t really have gun laws that allow us to carry guns, so law enforcement officers are less likely to get involved in a situation in which they may feel as if their life is threatened. Professor Rothwell added that he doesn’t deny that there is structural racism in Bermuda, but things such as our size, the makeup of our police force and the absence of guns on our streets means that we are less likely to experience incidences of police on black violence (Personal interview, October 7, 2020). It makes sense, then, that my young, ‘fresh-out-of high-school’ college students are only able to write from somewhat of a distance about this topic, Black Lives Matter, or racism. They are blessed to be untainted, but they are aware of it, and that’s important. They are not totally cocooned; they are not oblivious. They are socially conscious. The eight remaining students all write about COVID-19. Here are their excerpts.

JACHAEL’S EXCERPT Jachael addresses the effects of COVID-19 on his life. He writes that Covid-19 changed his life “financially, spiritually and socially.” Covid-19 has affected me financially. This virus has made my pockets reach an all-time low. For example, due to Covid-19 I have not been able to get paid in months. I have not seen one stimulus check from the government although I am a fulltime worker. . . . Covid-19 struck me harder than lightning. . . . Covid-19 has affected me spiritually. Lately, I haven’t been feeling like I want to do anything. I feel like my bed and home is the best place for me. . . . Lastly, Covid-19 has affected me socially. Ever since the virus struck, I have not been in crowds. Usually I go hang out with friends or go into the city and shop, but this virus has kept everyone more than 6 feet apart. Restaurants were always an option, but lately I’ve been settling for a home cooked meal by myself. My house used to be the chill out spot but nowadays there hasn’t been any entertainment. No parties or football games have made it harder to interact with people. Covid-19 has pushed many people to communicate using social media.

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Jachael responded to this topic in the way I thought most students would. He has chosen to look at the effects of this virus, but his discussion is somewhat superficial. The superficial nature of his response is evidenced in the page he submitted, which is actually less than the page that was required. In my response, I wrote, “Jachael, I agree; Covid-19 has impacted all of our lives. You touch on some of those effects, but you must develop those ideas.” While his writing lacks depth, he at least is thinking about the effects of the virus, and because he is thinking about it, there is room for development and improvement in his writing. He can unpack his story.

TALIAH’S EXCERPT Taliah not only addresses the impact that COVID-19 had on her education, she also addresses the BLM movement. She admits that when we were confronted with COVID-19, she was more interested in “getting a break from school.”

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In my head working from home would be easier. But I was wrong. I struggled last semester to keep up with online course work. As time went on things got worse and Covid cases in Bermuda started to rise. This meant we all had to be on lockdown. Staying home 24/7 drove me crazy, I’ve never been around my family so much. We got on each other’s nerves every day. My daily activities included watching Netflix and scrolling though social media. Taliah doesn’t only touch on COVID-19, she goes on to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement: While I was home safe in my bed more and more police brutality cases were trending on my phone. And all I could think is why now? Old and new cases surfaced almost every week, even to this day. I’m not oblivious to the racism and police brutality, it has been happening for years. But it amazed me how during such a hard time; a global pandemic, people decided enough is enough and black lives matters flourished. Taliah, like Jachael, was somewhat superficial in her coverage of the topics, so I noted in my comment, “Taliah thank you for sharing your views. I would like to know more. How did the George Floyd incident affect you?” I was hoping to provoke thought with my question.

JAHCANTA’S EXCERPT Jahcanta, in her manuscript, “Life Set Back,” takes a somewhat broader look at the effects of COVID-19. Jahcanta writes:

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Covid-19 has had a negative impact on everyone and everything whether you were infected by the virus or just had to deal with the repercussions of the virus. From April till an ongoing time we have had to stand in long lines to enter stores, wear masks, use sanitizer constantly, and go on lockdown. This is just a few things that were put into place over the months. Covid-19 has not only restricted many people and businesses, but put families in a financial dilemma, and as a whole, delayed life.,, Restrictions have been put in place to make sure our safety and well-being is first but the restrictions have put things on hold. Living on an island we depend on shipments and flights to bring in what we need to survive, for example food. When covid-19 was considered a high risk, Bermudian citizens were restricted to having two days to grocery shop. The mile radius for persons to travel on island was limited as well as outings. Firstly, there is nothing wrong with restriction to ensure safety, but the lockdown had the ability to [make] people lose their sanity from sitting home all day. Walks do not suffice one’s long day of detachment from society. Jahcanta sees COVID-19 as having put people’ lives on hold. She writes, “Last but not least coronavirus has delayed life completely. Covid-19 has put restrictions on the way we will go about living and caused people to have a financial decline . . .. How long will things take to get back to normal? Will they ever get back to normal?” I can sense Jahcanta’s uncertainty and I find myself wondering about her question regarding normalcy. Specifically, I wonder who will determine what the new normal is? In response to Jahcanta I wrote, “I like that you think about the many effects of COVID-19. You have tried to deal 159

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with every effect on this page, which has resulted in your ideas not being as developed as they could be. You have a good start, though. You just need to unpack these ideas and develop them more effectively.”

TEJA’S EXCERPT Teja also writes about COVID-19. But more specifically, she writes about the effects it had on her from a school perspective and how COVID wrecked her plans. Teja’s opening captures her reader’s attention: “Five, four, three, two, one. Twenty-twenty!” Happiness laced in our voices as we counted down to a new year, to new resolutions, to a new decade. Not even knowing that this year was going to be one to remember; for all the wrong reasons. Coming into this new year, I thought things would begin to look up- leading me to new doors of opportunity and unimaginable blessings. Now that I am an “adult”, confined to my small island, my parents are not required to attend my doctor’s appointments nor sign my documents anymore. And it is now my year to graduate from High School. I could already imagine myself enjoying campus life away from my family at either Acadia or Georgia State University. Imagining the responsibility of being on my own. Man did I have that all wrong. As the weeks turned into months things were pretty normal: attending school regularly, hanging out with friends every weekend, practicing for the fashion show, playing sports for my school, and many other activities. Meanwhile, in other countries they are dealing with their citizens coming down with a sudden viral illness. . . . I watched as the numbers of the infected rose, the death toll increased and the spread of the virus increased to more places around the world. However, I still continued to live my life virus free. Praying that the virus would not be capable of touching a single grain of sand on island.

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It’s now March and the virus is still continuing to spread and the suspicion of it being on island had raised. The government now expecting the worse began to come up with plans to protect its citizens. Walking through the halls of my High School I began to hear rumors about the island being shut down and the development of restrictions for our day to day lives. As a senior, this was not good news for me, being we had lots of things planned in the upcoming weeks to prepare for Senior Prom and Graduation. From the first day of lockdown, I began to count down to when things were scheduled to go back to normalcy. The transition from in-school to online learning was difficult; hence, corresponding with teachers and classmates always ended up with a delayed response. Come to think of it one of my teachers still has not replied to a single email I sent her at the beginning of the lockdown. Learning new topics was difficult, especially since I was home with my whole family (the house was never quiet). Only being able to leave home on my assigned days drove me crazy. Not being able to physically see my friends was worse, so I began to bury myself in my books and never left my room unless I was hungry or to use the bathroom. Teja’s experience with COVID-19 was personal. While COVID didn’t affect her physically or healthwise, her young life was personally impacted by the virus. You can hear her teenage excitement as she looks forward to the end of the school year when she gets to celebrate being a high school graduate. Her life is turned upside down when she realizes that none of that celebration will take place, and worse, she has to adjust to a new mode of learning. Being suddenly forced into this new mode of learning was 160

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not good for Teja, nor was it good for her teachers who were also in unfamiliar virtual world territory. I certainly could relate to her teachers, for I, too, had been thrust into this unfamiliar virtual world of learning. Whether Teja realized it or not, this change in learning brought on by COVID did have a positive effect in that it drove her into her school books. I wrote in response to her manuscript page, “Teja, I agree; switching to online learning was/is difficult. I’m sorry you and your peers were not able to celebrate your graduation from high school as you planned.”

BIANCA’S EXCERPT Bianca writes about COVID-19, but she takes a more creative approach in that she personifies the virus. She talks to COVID-19 as if it is a person. You showed up out of nowhere, destroying. Spreading. Killing. You have managed to create chaos worldwide and have disrupted everyone’s lives. You are a silent killer; and that is what’s scary. This is a whole new way of living – or not living. You arrived to our little island and changed everything. We are isolated from our family, friends, and people we love because of you. Because of you we are all so close yet so far, unable to simply go to visit a sick loved one or for children to go to a friend’s house and play. You are taking a toll on so many people’s mental health including our sleep schedule, and not being able to talk to anyone in person. That messes with a person’s head. Why are you making us so miserable? Staring at the same four walls everyday is not healthy. You forced us as children to attend online school, letting us get used to the fact that we didn’t have to change out of our pajamas to go to math class. The Z generation never thought we would say we would be living through a global pandemic. I guess you showed us what we used to take for granted. You caused high school seniors to not have a proper or full graduation ceremony. No walking across a stage with cap and gown and diploma in hand. No. Just social distancing and face masks. All because of you.

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Now we are left with social media, the new norm. You did this. You are separating us from everyone. This isn’t healthy. Please leave. No, we shouldn’t have to ask you politely. You do not belong here on this earth causing pandemonium. Why do you have to taunt us? You play with our emotions! We are nervous every time we step out of the house. We are nervous to go to the grocery store and buy the simple things we need to survive. We fear you so much because you have all this power over us. Just leave. Disappear and don’t come back. You’re nothing but a pest whenever you’re around, which is always! Do us all a favor and vanish. You are not only worrying us – you are terrifying us. Get out of here now! No one wants you around! Stop this madness and get out of everyone’s lives. Let us breathe. Let us live. Clearly, Bianca is distraught about the impact the virus is having on her life and the lives of her family and friends. Addressing the virus as a person allows her to speak through her writing and express her real feelings about what she is experiencing. She is able to make the reader feel her disdain for this virus through her skillful use of personification. She closes with a sense of helplessness, as seen in her 161

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very subtle allusion to the George Floyd incident when she concludes, “Let us breathe. Let us live.” In response to Bianca’s manuscript page I wrote, “Bianca, I like the way you personify COVID-19. A very interesting and creative approach. I think you can unpack some of this. I look forward to reading more of your world.”

GABRIELLA’S EXCERPT Gabriella writes about her anger and frustration at the COVID-19 and its effect on her life. She is frustrated because she is forced to stay at home during the outbreak. Gabriella writes: Lockdown, the worse part of it all. Online school is a joke. Our freedom was taken from us. I never imagined not being able to leave my house or having restrictions on where and when I can go places. It taught me a lesson. Being stuck in my house 24/7 for a month and a half straight was the death of me. Not being able to go to work was probably the most annoying part of it all really. I’m not someone who just sits at home all day. I enjoy going to work. . . . Another thing was [being] stuck at home and having to go school online. I hated it but at the same time I liked it. It was frustrating because teachers weren’t really teaching; they would just give us the assignment and leave the call. It’s not like being in school where you can get up and ask questions or interact with your classmates. Also, I know some can relate but if you had a question, I know you didn’t want to interrupt the teacher and throw everyone off. One microphone at a time wasn’t helping at all. I need to be in-front of the teacher interacting with classmates and actually writing notes. Being on a computer with just a teacher talking for hours is boring. The grades weren’t reflecting the same as if we were in school learning. Some who were failing had higher grades then most because they were able to search up so much without having to pay attention. I guess it was a win win situation for them.

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I’m going to be really honest, being alone made me feel extremely lonely but it allowed me to find myself as a person. I was able to realize what makes me happy and what bothers me the most. It allowed me to become creative in the way I think, look from other people’s perspective. I became more cautious on how I deliver myself as a person. I’ve calmed down a lot from spending time with myself. I developed a better personality and chose happiness over loneliness. It was a learning experience getting to know myself better. While Gabriella is disturbed by the number of restrictions put in place as a result of COVID, she seems to be more bothered by the way the virus affected education, generally. She shares that there was a clear decline in the quality of education and students who were normally failing began getting better grades, which she attributed to students cheating. Yet, on a positive note, Gabriella says she has come to know herself better and she has become a better person from spending time alone. I wrote in response to Gabriella manuscript page, “Gabriella, thank you for sharing your honest opinion about how you feel about online learning. I’m assuming you were talking about high school. Were you? I would like to see you develop these ideas more. You have a lot going on here.” 162

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ZOE’S EXCERPT Zoe writes how she remembers hearing about this virus that was sweeping the world. She was worried about it reaching Bermuda because she had not yet fully recovered from a motorcycle accident which had left her with two broken legs. Then, I blinked my eyes and COVID was in Bermuda. Schools and businesses were shutting down and everything was changing. Masks now had to be worn, we limited the amount of times we had to leave our houses, limited our contact with other people that didn’t live within our households and we couldn’t complete our normal day to day activities. This affected me greatly because I was still sick and recovering from my bike accident. I needed to go to physiotherapy to help regain the strength in both of my broken legs and the rest of my body that lost its muscle. I couldn’t attend any of my doctor’s appointments to check and see if I was healing how I was supposed to or if I was going backwards with my healing. In addition, as a senior in high school I was put at a great disadvantage for having to do online classes and not being able to have that face-to-face communication with my teachers that I prefer. From 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. five days a week, I was on zoom every hour completing my schoolwork to the best of my abilities. Zoe, unlike Gabriella, says her teachers were helpful. Zoe writes, “The teachers were so helpful. They did everything and anything to try and help us. They held extra Zoom sessions, created WhatsApp group chats so we could reach them at all times and some teachers even allowed us to call them to get one on one help and detailed explanations for a better understanding.” Because of COVID, Zoe says she was forced to scrap her plans to go away to a nursing school somewhere in the U.S., but she refused to let that stop her from pursuing her goal. Zoe goes on to write: But I would like to give you some advice if you’ll let me. In this world, there [are] so many challenges that are going to keep coming your way no matter what. But if you persevere and keep pushing through, you’ll succeed in whatever you dream. Take it from me, a girl with two shattered femurs, a metal rod and six pins in each leg, nothing is impossible. I thought I would never walk again, never heal, but I did it. Once I set my mind to what I wanted to happen, it happened. Don’t let anything stop you!

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I wrote in response to Zoe’s manuscript page, “Zoe, I love your persevering spirit. I would like to know more about the challenges you faced with your education as a result of COVID.”

TOYA’S EXCERPT Toya writes about, what she calls, a life-changing experience as it relates to COVID-19. Toya begins her manuscript: It all began on April 26, 2020. School was locked down for a month, people [were] panicking, cases [were] rising and we were in the middle of a pandemic. It still feels like yesterday when I had received the most life changing opportunity in my life. I had been scrolling through Twitter and . . . saw a black Bermudian doctor’s tweet on my timeline. The tweet read, “I am looking for nursing students or nursing

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assistants to volunteer, it’s a great opportunity.” Right there and then I decided, why not give back to my community? We exchanged contact information and it resulted in me having to stay up all night waiting for the email, which finally came through at 3:00 in the morning. We had been directed to complete online training with WHO (World Health Organization). What I didn’t know [was] that this was going have the biggest impact on my life ever. The very next day Dr. Osseyran asked me and eight other volunteers to meet at Southside Whites for 12:00 p.m. We received the most shocking news ever… we were going to be the first young black people on our island swabbing for COVID-19. I felt my adrenaline rushing, not knowing if I wanted to be happy or anxious. It was risky, but it was a great opportunity to keep my island safe, so I agreed to help. . . .

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It had finally clicked that we were risking our lives to attend to the lives of others and that’s what a good healthcare professional does. Therefore, I came back the next day ready to work. It was only our second day and we began doing demographics and swabbing. The [Bermuda] Regiment had been some of the first set of people to get tested. I chose to do demographics with my coworker, Dejha. We had over 100 + people lined up from the Regiment. I remember walking back and forth writing down everyone’s information one by one. It had been pretty hectic, but we made the best out of the day. Toya’s story about COVID was very different from the others. She saw this whole experience with the virus as a door-opening opportunity. She was able to share her story of how she ended up volunteering to help with the testing/swabbing of people for COVID. Rather than look at COVID from a negative perspective, she saw it as a window of opportunity. These are my students’ stories, or rather, these are excerpts from a page of my students’ stories. I have to admit that I didn’t find what I expected to find in my students’ writings. Then, again, I am not sure what I expected to find. I did expect to hear more of their voices. But perhaps I was confusing my own inner voice, my older more experienced voice, with the voice I expected to hear from my students. Quite often this is the problem when we give students topics to write on. We give them an assigned topic, and what we unconsciously expect in response is a reflection of the voice in our own mind. This particular assignment, in which I actually gave my students a topic, is new to me. Even before I adopted this new student-centered-book-writing pedagogy, when my students wrote essays, I did not assign topics. I allowed students to choose their own topics because I have always believed that students write best when they write out of what they know. I still believe that. Perhaps I should have done a better job at narrowing the topic, so that it was more manageable for them. I merely asked them to write a page on either COVID or BLM, but that may have been too broad. Another drawback had to do with time constraints. The semester was only a few weeks in when I gave them this assignment. Because of the deadline for submission of this chapter, we didn’t spend time in discussion about either topic, so they were writing out of their held knowledge, much of which probably had come from social media. There does, however, seem to be a common thread that runs through my students’ writings. That common thread is the element of hope. Nasya and Kityra, who both wrote about the BLM movement, conclude their page with a sense of hope. Nasya has hope that people will no longer have to fear living in a “racist system.” And Kityra seems to recognize that we have no control over people’s opinion, but she has hope that we can find better ways to “deal with it.” The other eight students also expressed a sense of hope. Each one of them discussed how they had been impacted by COVID-19. All of them were quite frustrated by the restrictions placed on them as a result of the pandemic. Most of them were upset 164

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at the way it impacted their educational journey. Some of them expressed concern about the financial repercussions. There were a few who saw positives in that COVID-19 gave them a chance to reflect on their lives and to engage in a time of self-reflection. All of them had hope for the future. With everything that is going on in our world, they have not given up on hope and for that I am happy, I am thankful, because they are our future. Former United States President, Barack Obama (2020) speaks to the world of crisis in which we live and shares why he has hope for the future: For I’m convinced that the pandemic we’re currently living through is both a manifestation of and mere interruption in the relentless march toward an interconnected world, one in which peoples and cultures can’t help but collide. In that world . . . we will learn to live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize the dignity of others, or we will perish. (2020, p. 17). The former President admits that he has hope largely because he believes in our “next generation” with their natural inclination to see all men as equal (Obama, 2020, p. 18). Even as my students wrote about the injustices they had seen with regards to the BLM movement and the impact of COVID-19 on their lives and on the lives of their friends and families, they still expressed a sense of hope.

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AT THE END OF IT ALL I wanted to know what do students say when asked what they are burning to tell the world about COVID and Racism and how it has impacted their lives. My students spoke. These are excerpts from their writings. I gave them the topic, but I can’t, and didn’t want to, control their stories. Because of the time constraints involved in generating this chapter, we did not spend time in class discussing this topic. Students were free to speak out of the knowledge they hold. I encourage my students to use their voice. I don’t have to agree with what they say, and I may not agree, but that may merely be because my students and I don’t share the same perspectives. This difference in perspective may be based on any number of things. My students and I will certainly have a difference in lived experiences and we will also be carrying different cultural baggage. In fact, as individuals, we all have our own unique cultural baggage. As Wardhaugh (2010) says the language we use will be born out of the community or society in which it functions. Our students’ stories will be, or should be, a reflection of the communities they exist in. This is why, when it comes to writing, it is important to provide students with as much flexibility as possible. Confining them to topics can be restrictive, especially if they don’t know anything about the topic. Melody is a prime example of this. Melody was, perhaps, already feeling challenged by the fact that English is not her first language, and then she was tasked with writing on a topic that she maybe couldn’t relate to. Kityra also admits, when writing her page on the Black Lives Matter movement, that neither she nor anyone in her family had ever experienced racism. All too often this disconnectedness happens in our Composition classrooms, especially when we are using Composition texts. Hurlbert (2012) argues that if we took a “cursory glance at textbooks of the last fifty years” we would find that “nothing much changes in them even as our students continue to change” (p. 169). And this is why I will continue to use my student-centered-book-writing pedagogy because it is inherently inclusive and it allows students the opportunity to tell their stories, to use their voice. Allowing students to tell their stories means that there is far less chance that they will feel compelled, as Melody did, to plagiarize. After all, it is their story, which means that they are the expert on the subject matter. My students’ writ165

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ings as shared here reaffirmed that while we all exist in this world where we may be worrying about COVID and Racism, it is not the same for us all. While many of us may be in the same storm, the storm of COVID or the storm of Racism, we are not in the same boat. We have different perspectives, and it is those perspectives that shape our stories. Another inherent benefit of my student-centered-book-writing pedagogy is that students get to explore the views of their peers through the writings that are shared in the various writing/reading workshops groups (Virgil 2015, pp. 90-93). The books that the students are working on during the course of the semester ultimately become the text for the class. There is no Composition reader. It is important that students are able to relate to, or connect with, some aspect of the readings assigned to the class. Because the writer of the assigned reading material is not some person somewhere else across the world, as would be the case with material found in a Composition reader, the writings/readings takes on more meaning. In fact, Hurlbert (2012) argues that composition textbooks are limiting in that they are not inclusive enough. This is true. A typical composition textbook cannot accommodate for the type of changes in society like those seen as a result of COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement. As I reflect on it now, it just may be that assigning these topics as I did only serve to silence my students’ voices. My Bermudian students, while very much aware of the Black Lives Matter movement, are somewhat removed from any direct repercussions. Other than the very peaceful march we had a few months ago, there are no protest movements taking place in Bermuda in response to violence against blacks. And while there are many people in Bermuda who have been touched by COVID-19, thankfully, we don’t see the skyrocketing numbers like those seen around the world. Being a small community does have its benefits. We are all connected, so there are less police on black violence. Additionally, because of our small size, we are better able to test, track and trace for people infected with COVID-19. Clearly, an assignment that says ‘write a book about what you are burning to tell the world,’ is the right thing to do because giving students choice, gives them voice. Apart from Bianca’s excerpt in which she personifies the virus, there seemed to be very little of my students’ voices in their writings. They sounded like they were writing on a topic that they were assigned to write about. I wonder how many of my students will stick with this topic for the entirety of their book. I suspect many of them will not. And they certainly don’t have to, especially since I encourage them to allow their books to develop organically. At the end of the day, what I want them to do is write and I want them to write a lot. They will only do that if they enjoy what they are writing. It is all about perspective, their perspective. They have to be allowed and encouraged to write their worlds, and we have to listen. Give them choice; give them voice, then listen and learn.

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REFERENCES Atkinson, R. (1998). The life story interview. Sage (Atlanta, Ga.). Baumeister, R. F, & Newman, L. S. (1994). How stories make sense of personal experiences: Motives that shape autobiographical narratives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(6), 676-690. doi:10.1177/0146167294206006 Berthoff, A. E. (1981). The making of meaning: metaphors, models, and maxims for writing teachers. Boynton/Cook.

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Blitz, M., & Hurlbert, C. M. (1998). Letters for the living: Teaching writing in a violent age. National Council of Teachers of English. Brown, T. (2018). Literacy narrative: Ways to write #me too. Composition Studies, 49(2), 189–191. Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teacher’s College. Hurlbert, C. (2012). National healing: Race, state, and the teaching of composition. Utah State UP. Obama, B. (2020). A Promised land. Crown. Pagnucci, G. S. (2004). Living the narrative life. Boynton/Cook. Park, G. (2011). Adult English language learners constructing and sharing their stories and experiences: The cultural and linguistic autobiography (CLA) writing project. TESOL Journal, 2(2), 156–172. doi:10.5054/tj.2011.250378 Postman, N., & Weingartner, C. (1969). Teaching as a Subversive Activity. Dell. Powell, M. (2012). Stories take place: A performance in one act. CCC, 64(2), 383-406. Read, D. (1998). Writing trauma, history, story: The class(room) as borderland. JAC, 18(1), 105–121. Tyler, L. (1999-2000). Narratives of pain: Trauma and the healing power of writing. JAEPL, 5, 14–24. Virgil, S. M. (2015). Sky juice: Students writing hope (PhD dissertation). Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Wardhaugh, R. (2010). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Wiley-Blackwell.

ADDITIONAL READING Clark, A. L. (1991). What my students know is hurting them. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 18, 248–250. Hanh, T. N. (1998). Interbeing: Fourteen guidelines for engaged Buddhism. Parallax.

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Maynes, M. J., Pierce, J. L., & Laslett, B. (2008). Telling stories: The use of personal narratives in the social sciences and history. Cornell UP. Meyer, R. J. (1996). Stories from the heart. Routledge. Morgan, D. (1998). Ethical issues raised by students’ personal writing. College English, 60(3), 318–325. doi:10.2307/378560 O’Reilley, M. R. (1993). The peaceable classroom. Boynton/Cook. Tinberg, H. (1997). Theory as healing. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 24, 282–290. Tobin, L. (2004). Reading student writing: Confessions, meditations, and rants. Boynton/Cook.

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Valentino, M. J. (1996). Responding when a life depends on it: What to write in the margins when students self-disclose. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 23, 274–283.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Bermuda: A small island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; not in the Caribbean. It has a population of approximately 65,000 and is known for Tourism and being one of the world’s leaders in International Business. Bermuda College: A Community College located on the island of Bermuda. It is the only tertiary institution on the island. Bermuda Regiment: Bermuda’s army, which used to be compulsory, but now is voluntary service. Black Lives Matter Movement: A social movement aimed at bringing to the fore acts of violence against blacks, founded in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of teenager Trayvon Martin. Book-Writing Pedagogy: A method used to teach students writing/Composition in the context of producing a book. George Floyd: An African American man who was killed at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer after he kneeled on his neck for 8:46 seconds. Writing Tools: The writing/organizational patterns that students use to generate and organize their book. (i.e. exemplification, narration, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, definition etc.) Other tools may include thesis statement and topic sentences.

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APPENDIX 1 Guidelines for Responding to your Peer’s Manuscript--Writing Workshop Responding to your peers’ writing is a very important part of the class. I keep a response folder for each student and you will be graded on your responses. Hence, if you want to do well, you must be sure to follow the guidelines listed below. The response activities are intended to assist you in becoming a more critical reader, and hopefully as a consequence, a more critical writer. Reading the writings of others can make you more aware of your own writing. • • • • • • • • • •

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•

You must have “at least” FOUR comments on each one-page manuscript that is submitted for workshop. If two pages are submitted, then you must have FOUR comments on each page. Use the abbreviation “HWICYMIY” (how would it change your meaning if you) when commenting on your peers’ manuscripts. In addition to the HWICYMIY comments, you must include at least ONE “I like” comment. This means you must state something that you like about the page you are reading. Your four comments must consist of at least two HWICYMIY comments, at least one “I like . . .” comment, and at least one other comment. This other comment can be another “I like” comment, another HWICYMIY comment or an “I would like to know more about . . .” comment. Additionally, you MUST include a positive, encouraging endnote that refects thought and addresses the writer by name at the bottom of the page. Do NOT make corrections (i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar etc.) on your peer’s manuscript You must be sure to write your name, identifying yourself as the reader, on your peer’s document (i.e. Reader: Robert) underneath the writer’s name in the top left corner. Be sure that the writer has indicated the date of the workshop and the round of the writing workshop (1st round, 2nd round etc.) in the top right corner. You must record your responses directly on your peer’s manuscript, alongside the sentence/passage you are responding to. After you have recorded your comments on each of your peers’ pages, you MUST make a copy of the document with your responses and write on it “COPY”. You must give your peer the original immediately after he/she has work-shopped his/her page. You must give the copy to me at the end of class on the day that the paper is work-shopped in order to receive a grade for your response. Responses not turned into me on the day of the workshop may not be accepted, or if accepted, may be penalized for being late. Sample Responses

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

I like___________________________________________________________ HWICYMIY “added more description here”? HWICYMIY “provided more detail here”? HWICYMIY “changed __________ to _________”? HWICYMIY “deleted this sentence/passage? HWICYMIY “added dialog here?”

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7. HWICYMIY “moved this sentence/paragraph to . . .?” 8. I would like to know more about_____________________________________ 9. Write a reflective, positive endnote for every paper you read in workshop (i.e. Robert, I like your use of description and dialog. It helps to capture your reader’s attention. I look forward to reading more of your writing).

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Chapter 10

The Heart of a Poet:

An Autoethnographic Study of Poetry as Therapy in Times of Crisis Leonora Anyango-Kivuva Community College of Allegheny County, USA

ABSTRACT The year 2020 is one not so fondly to be remembered by many. That is when the global pandemic of COVID-19 hit the world. Coupled with that, a wave of protests arose in the United States of America after the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, by a white ofcer. The entire world had to deal with questioning their inner selves about how they treat each other racially. These events have been exhausting. Finding an outlet has been a preoccupation of many. Poetry is one of the greatest forms of expressive writing that can be used as therapy in times of crisis and can be healing to the person writing. In this chapter, the author showcases her original poetry written during these times of crisis. It is an autoethnographic study where she discusses poetry using relevant scholarship. The work will be relevant to teachers and students in upper secondary literature and college English classrooms as a tool on how to handle crisis through writing.

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: POETRY AS THERAPY IN TIMES OF CRISIS Times of crisis are moments that writers can capitalize on fully to develop avenues of their writing. Creative writing is to a large extent born of crisis. In this chapter, I have showcased poetry that I wrote during the year 2020 as part of the project for this book on writing during times of crisis. During the writing of these poems, I was conscious of the events that took place during the year 2020. The bigger and larger event was COVID 19, but other events were in play. The major events were the killing of George Floyd in Massachusetts and also the elections that saw Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win the White House. This win, and my reflection on the continent of Africa and its possibilities, were the climax that portrayed hope in this collection. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch010

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I used autoethnography as the method to discuss my own poetry and what it meant to me. I looked at the writing of this poetry as a process of healing from these tough moments. I encourage other poetry writers who are also researchers to explore other topics by using autoethnography to study their own topics. This chapter’s title is “The heart of a poet.” This title is formed from my mother tongue Dholuo of Western Kenya, Eastern Africa. In Dholuo, the heart is the seat of consciousness. It is sometimes referred to in plural as one talks of multiple ways of thinking. One can say, “my heart is telling me…” or “my other heart is telling me…” This is not necessarily to mean that one has several hearts, but just that the heart is able to perform functions in plurality. In this collection, therefore, “the heart of a poet” was seen as one that functions in this plurality by writing crisis poetry while also including optimism and hope. Therefore, while “my heart was telling me” that there was crisis in 2020, “my other heart was telling me” that amidst this pandemic were other things to be celebrated, and that there was hope in the midst of despair. That is the premise with which the poetry in this chapter was written and eventually analyzed. Times of crisis are not unfamiliar to writers. This is the time that writers’ pens glide as they make sense of the situations and write for their own sake and for the sake of the society where they live. Through writing during times of crisis, writers make an indelible mark in the societies they live in by being the conscience of these communities. They write for social justice, they write to inform others, and they write to calm the society and negotiate for peace. However, an important part of writing during crisis is for the writer’s own healing and therapy. The process of healing through writing has been discussed by writers over time. Poetry is an integral part of this kind of writing. When crisis happens, poetry is used as therapy. However, Gallagher (1996) is quick to point out that poetry is not subordinated as a means to some other end, namely therapy, but rather is its own reason for being (p. 1). This is to say that the beauty of poetry warrants its existence aside from its therapeutic properties. Historically, as Hoffman and Granger (2015) contend poetry is “one of the oldest healing arts that has been utilized across many different cultures throughout history” (p. 16). The properties in poetry give it its therapeutic nature. Like songs, poetry has a way that heals the heart when writing or listening to it. Harris (2006), for example, posits that “metaphorical writing can have therapeutic effects, and when patients are encouraged to relay metaphors, more meaning can be sought in analysis.” (p. 225). The language in poetry gives one pause and time to think about meanings as the beauty of it works as a therapeutic agent. Harris continues to say that this property of poetry is not new, and dates back to the time the time of Shakespeare. He opines that:

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The poem’s therapeutic potential is in its permanence (this goes back to Shakespeare), where loss is retrieved just long enough to be embodied in language before the object abandons or is abandoned again. Language is the repository of our alienated desire; it is where we bury the lack that language simultaneously fills and empties again (p. 230). Language, therefore, acts as a way to purify our thoughts during tough times when we either use it, analyze it, or see it in our experiences. Thus, when a poet writes during crisis, the aim is to take the reader with her, as both need the therapy that the poetry offers. Poetry appeals to emotion, just like music does. Music may be described as sang poetry, and an effective reading of poetry to include the right feelings and emotions may increase or cement its cathartic nature. Through poetry, explains Leeser (2016), “the writer attains a profound understanding of oneself, one’s relationships and one’s life in the world” (p. 71). He continues by stating that “in experiencing beauty and creativity, people encounter themselves as persons acting in a self-determining manner on the 172

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path to an ‘inner sovereignty’, a path on which the person becomes aware of their abilities and possibilities within the context of their lifetime and the world they live in” (p. 71). As I wrote my own poetry, I found this statement to be true as I explored the world around me in 2020 with the crises surrounding it. Through this poetry, I tried to make meaning of the events that were taking place during that time. Writing offered not only a release from the pressures of the pain, but it also offered a sense of hope that I wish to share with my readers in this chapter. Petzold and Orth (2005) allude to this role of the author when they write that: For the author, the text becomes a message from him or her, a message about himself / herself, yet also a message to others. The author becomes a medium by attempting to comprehend himself / herself in order to attain a feeling of sense, an in-depth understanding of oneself, one’s relationships and one’s life within the world (p. 72). Petzold and Orth (2005), therefore, project their r own feelings and sense of self through writing and in turn seeks to do what Wakeman (2014) designates as the process of safely filing away painful situations (p. 58). Poetry as therapy, therefore, appeals to both the writer and the reader. The writer essentially writes for others, but in the process, benefits oneself by finding a repository for feelings that are hard to bottle up within oneself, therefore gaining a positive avenue for release. In the process, society is also educated and readers find a place to also process their own emotions in crisis. In their work on expressive writing, Hanci-Azizoglu and Alawdat (2020), aptly state that: Recent scientific evidence reveals the fact that writing not only heals the soul, but it can also heal physical wounds. It is quite interesting that the emotional state has a direct correlation with people’s well-being and health. It is indeed scientifically a proven fact that writing positively affects people’s emotional state, and improves people’s health (p. 72). The main objective of this chapter is mirrored in the discussions above. The crux is in using poetry as a therapeutic tool both for the writer and the reader as they make sense of the world around them during crisis. The poetry in the chapter also seeks healing of the crisis through hope. Each poem ends in a hopeful note and the last section gives a glimpse of hopeful situations amid crisis. In the next section, I take a look at autoethnography as an authentic method of research that can be used to analyze an author’s own poetry.

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AUTOETHNOGRAPHY AS METHOD FOR Poetry in times of CRISIS By and large, researchers, especially in social sciences, are acknowledging that there is an urgent need to continue bridging the gap between the researcher and the self during research. Qualitative research affords researchers this possibility because it is a method where expressiveness and people’s voices find validation. Hanauer (2020), supports the use of personal writing and data, especially poetry, in one’s research. He opines that “the artificial distance between academic research and human life should be broached” (p. 38). In this vein, he sees the role of researchers and literacy instructors as “to provide useful tools and approaches that can be used by a broad range of people for exploring their own contingencies” (p. 38). This is necessary because researchers have their own experiences that can be a rich 173

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part of data that would inform their fields. Autoethnography is a great research tool for this because, by definition, it “uses a researcher’s personal experience to describe and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and experiences, and it also “acknowledges and values a researcher’s relationships with others (Adams et al., 2014, pp. 1-2). Autoethnography is a research method that allows us to be at the center of our research. Ngunjiri, et al. (2010) state that autoethnography takes a systematic approach to data collection, analysis, and interpretation about self and social phenomena involving self (Ngunjiri et al., 2010, p. 2.). Autoethnography is a useful method in crisis writing because, as Ngunjiri et al. (2010) explain: Vulnerability is part of what makes reading autoethnographic works so compelling, as researchers expose their pains, hurt, loss, grief, heartbreaks, and other emotions experienced as they travail through events in their lives (p. 8). Autoethnography is, therefore, a suitable methodology for my crisis poetry because of the emotions expressed in them, and the messages that I hope will reach my readers. After writing my poetry, I could subject it to systematic analysis by using the research tools permitted in autoethnographic research. I followed four systematic steps in order to come up with the poetry in this chapter, and its eventual analysis and presentation. •

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Refective journal: A refective journal is a necessary tool in any qualitative research. The writing in the journal forms an integral part of what may be analyzed as part of the research. I kept a journal in which I wrote refections on what was happening during the year. I mostly wrote the phrases that would come to me as I watched, read, or talked about an event. Being from a culture that forms and transfers knowledge orally, this is always a difcult thing for me. However, a refective journal has always worked because I can write from memory. Pulling things from memory and writing them formed the core of my process. Poetic renditions: Sometimes I would write my poems after my observations or listening to news. At the journaling stage, I made sure to include any poetic phrases that came to mind. I would then weave them into my poetry as I wrote each one of them by theme. The fnal poems were composed from the situations that arose either on the same day or as the inspiration arose after some days. While most of the poetry was about the observed crisis situations during the year, I captured the victories of the election by writing one about Kamala Harris, the frst female Vice President of color. I also nostalgically wrote about Africa, my continent of origin. This anchored me as the poet of this collection by including my identity and celebrating my heritage. Autoethnographic research-As part of this collection of poetry, I did research on autoethnography that I have included in this section. I kept going back to the fundamentals of this research as I analyzed my poetry. Including knowledge on autoethnography gave me permission to work with my own poetry as data in this chapter. Rethinking and discussing: In the fnal stage, I read and rethought the poetry in order to organize the fow well was the fnal stage. Organizing the poetry into themes was straightforward because, for the most part, it was written according to the happenings that happened, mostly at the same time. When putting this chapter together, I drafted the analyses of each section and poem from the refections I had earlier written. Some were also from memory. These analyses formed the discussion for every poem and discussion.

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DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS: THE PANDEMIC, GEORGE FLOYD, AND HOPE In this section, I explore and showcase the crisis poetry written during the crisis of the pandemic in the year 2020. I explore the themes of COVID 19, matters related to the death of George Floyd, and I also hope in the time of the pandemic. In the previous sections, poetry as therapy and autoethnographic method have been explored. In this section, I showcase my own poetry as I made sense of the happenings of 2020. There are three themes explored in the poetry written in this section. These are: COVID 19, George Floyd and victory and hope. Each poem in this chapter builds into an ending of hope amid the crisis situations outlined in them. However, the last section of hope celebrates the overall therapeutic feeling in these poems that I embody as I write them and as I find a place of rest and assurance that is the object of my own cathartic writing.

Covid 19 Blues: Living With the Pandemic Living with the pandemic of COVID 19 has characterized the year 2020. It took people by storm, and the hope that it would “end soon” turned into months. The health departments issued warnings. We particularly received instructions that social distancing could help reduce the spread of the disease. We had to social distance from friends and family that we did not live with. Days turned into months, and testing became necessary if one traveled into certain states. Social distancing caused emotional distancing and relational difficulties when people could not see their loved ones, especially if their parents in nursing homes. In this poem, I show some of these feelings of times when human beings are forced to be suspicious of fellow human beings. The first stanza is a depiction of how the beginning of social distancing was riddled with mixed feelings. The uncertainty and lack of knowledge as to who actually carried the virus was heavy in people’s minds. “Could it be you, or you, or you?” These were the thoughts of people as they met others. Certainly, they were also following health officials rule that everyone needed to be “treated as suspect.”

“Social Distancing” “Treat everyone as suspect!” Voices bellow Advice, fear, concern, unknown

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Suspect, not criminal, suspect Suspect, suspicious, suspense Could it be you, or you, or you? Or me, or her, or them, or others? Suspect carrier of the unseen virus

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The unknown thing Suspicious, I ask, “Who are you?” Suspense, I wonder “Is it here?” Where is it? I peer, I peek, I look Social distancing Away from what I cannot see From the love of those I want to see and touch For the care of those I can help live longer Another day, another month To share intense love, concern, and true smiles Social distancing for baby, for son, for daughter, for Grandpa, and Grandma

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Social distancing for precious life By the last stanza, there is general understanding that this is all for the common good of loved ones. This realization is a mark of hope. It is seen as a gift to family to “live longer/ another day, another month.” The hope that social distancing would save lives was seen as a way of making it more bearable to everyone who had to deal with it. During the pandemic, masks became signs of hope. If people wore them, the pandemic would soon end. Then they became political statements, with people who felt their freedoms were being infringed upon if they were forced to wear masks. CNN carried an advertisement that displayed different kinds of masks and stated that “a mask can say a lot about the person who wears it. But even more about the person who doesn’t. Please wear a mask” (CNN, YouTube). In this next poem, I am personifying the mask and addressing it directly. Ways that people express themselves with masks through writing and drawings are portrayed. The role of the mask is explored.

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In the second stanza, the power of the mask is portrayed. Masks have become talking points for people. They express themselves and their moods, their love for color, and they are also used for advertisement.

“Mask” You have taken your own place You have lived your own life You have possessed your own identity You have taken your various shapes You have your own power We need you now but not forever While you are here, you make a statement You tell us things we never heard You show us ways that never existed You teach us to read you and admire you You make us remember you when we walk out We want you now but not forever You remind us of vulnerability Without you on our face You remind us of fragility

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Without you close to us You remind us of companionship Without those we care about Your power is felt now but not forever We need you now

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To block the unseen enemy To ward off the curse Of a threat to all Our constant companion To every destination Your place is felt now but not forever For we see the clouds eroding And the rain awash the roadsides Eroding your power Replacing with ours Of health and hope And soon your power will be no more And you will be a distant memory Forever Every stanza ends with a message that the mask will be here now but not forever. The second stanza, for example, ends with the line, “We want you now, but not forever.” The last stanza showcases the hope that the COVID 19 pandemic will be eventually a thing of the past.

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George Floyd and Justice: Racism as a Pandemic Amidst the Pandemic The killing of George Floyd was witnessed by many around the world. Recorded by a bystander in real time, I froze as I watched the event unfold. America was watching. The world was watching. After sitting without moving, frozen for some time, my tears began to freely flow. I was angry. I was confused. I could only think of this event by wearing the shoes of George Floyd’s mother. Then I learned that she had passed away before him. That was how the poem, “I Call You Mama,” was born. It is a child’s voice calling for his mother. The place of a mother in the life of a child is profound. In happiness, a child calls their mother. In sickness and in great trouble, a child calls their mother. George Floyd called his mother, even though he knew that his mother was not in this world any more. In this poem, I visualize the fact that George Floyd was already transitioning. The pain was too much, and life was leaving his body.

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In the first stanza, George Floyd is talking to his mother and projecting the image of his first and last breathe. Because his mother was the first to give him breath, he naturally calls upon her during his last moments. Most of us may no doubt be familiar with this case scenario. Children, in general, call their mothers when they sense danger. Mother, being the one who stays with, and nurtures children for the most part, gets the attachment that a child needs when s/he senses danger.

“I Call you Mama” I call you Mama, I can touch my end My end is tangible, I can touch it I can’t breathe, I can only touch my tangible end You nurtured me to breathe my first Now I am calling you To help me breathe my last For it is too late to save me I call you Mama; I wish I was not For the pain you feel is also tangible The pain of a son reaching out for breath The pain of a son calling for justice I know you Mama, come to my aid As you have done wherever you are

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I know you Mama, run to my aid For if you come, you might save me Mama…. Mama…. I can’t breathe I kept saying no one listened Now I call you I know you listen

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Hasten Mama, Hasten, save me From this knee, that stops my living From this world, so brutal to me From this system, that jeers as I perish For if you hasten, Peace sustains me I call you Mama, for I must now go No feeling anymore, even of the knee All is quiet, only peace I see you Mama I join you Mama Don’t cry Mama You went before me I am here now Mama, ‘tis okay here My Black life matters here

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In the second stanza, George Floyd is acknowledging Mama’s strength and resilience. He is affirming a mother’s ability to save a child even in a situation that seems daunting. Towards the end, there is hope. It is hope that is necessary for healing in times of crisis. Hope keeps people’s minds positive. In the poem, “My Neck under Your Knee,” the voice of George Floyd is crying for relief. Not only does it cry for its own relief, but it cries for the relief of others who have gone before him. This poem unsettles and uncovers the feelings for the loss of life that have been caused historically by racial tensions in the country.

“My Neck Under your knee” My neck under your knee After generations and generations Repeatedly

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Mercilessly Carelessly Pushing Hurting Blocking my being My neck under your knee You squeeze life out of me You block air to nourish my being I should not be nourished you say I should be uprooted No place for me except when My neck is under your knee When I cannot wriggle Turn Breathe My neck under your knee My neck under your knee

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The concrete your able assistant You gleefully smile You happily pocket You look at your world And declare with pride

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“I have subdued him Just like my ancestors in the good old cotton farms The legacy continues.” My neck under your knee My neck under your knee Sends me early To my grave There I am not silent I agitate I remind I move to action I send strength, and power, and energy To my people For your knee is off my neck My neck under your knee Becomes my voice My song

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My melody Of freedom Of change Of resilience Of an everlasting breath of life

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For this place is full of vivacious life My neck is not under your knee The tempo of this poem is that of urgency. The short lines render themselves for the quick pace reminiscent of someone who is in urgent need. George Floyd needed to be listened to as he said he could not breathe. In the third stanza, for example, he is analyzing the demeanor of the police officer who has his knee on George Floyd’s neck. When I watched the video of George Floyd being killed, I could not help but be filled with pain in my stomach. The police officer’s hand in his pocket showed no concern for the person he was pushing under, on a hard surface. But the poem ends in a crescendo, a message of hope. George Floyd did not die in vain. He still “agitates, reminds, moves to action.” There were many protests in the name of George Floyd all around the world, and institutions joined in to make policies that may address institutional racism and police brutality. In the next poem, “Gather Yourself Close, Son,” I echo the voice of many black mothers who fear for the safety of their sons in the hands of the police and a society that looks at them as a threat. At the time of this crisis, I worried about my own son. I thought of how rampant this situation may be for many mothers of black boys especially. My reaction was to write a poem that gives me consolation in my voice as I give advice to my son on how he needs to take care of himself.

“Gather Yourself Close, Son” Gather yourself close, son Move closer to Mama And let me whisper, a strong whisper louder than a shout A whisper you will need to whisper on To brother, and bro, and friend All those with your skin Take care

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Take care to look around you Take care to take care for the sake of it Take care to be ready to take care when you need to Take care to run and run fast when you see it Take care when you know you should and when you doubt you should

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Take care when you believe you should not Take care When your heart strongly tells you, you are fine When the skies are clear blue and show no sign of clouds When the wind scatters the flowers, and the raindrops fall on the ground When I should tell you enjoy it all, son With all the beauty in nature’s gaze With all the color, and splendor, and wonder Still take care, I must say For when I bore you, I saw your greatness And now look at you Tall, handsome, and chocolate Warm and kind, Strong and powerful Smart, able, capable But take care For what I see is not what they see

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That is not what they celebrate They choose to see what they have wanted to see An image of you that they have chosen to create A picture of you that I have never seen or felt An unknown, unreal monster dubbed dangerous to certain fellow men

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And so just take care Gather yourself closer again son, And let me end with this Tell your sister to take care too For it can find her in the created “angry black woman” corner Her anger in her insistence to be treated fairly And for her brother to be given a chance to thrive And so you must take care For when the sun is dim on the horizon And the stars light up the sky And the half-moon shines in the corner of the heavens I want to see you back home With your strong hug and genuine smile Saying “Hello Mama, I worked hard today, and tomorrow shall come

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And I took care, just as you said.” As Mama talks, she feels a kind of relief that she is telling her son what to do. It is a duty only she can fulfil. While she concentrates on her son, she does not forget her daughter who also has her problems in society as a Black woman thought as being “angry” due to her cries for justice. The poem ends in the last stanza with a celebratory note that has characterized these crisis poems in this chapter. Mama ends with the hope that her son comes back home in the evening and they can both be happy that he followed her directions to take care.

Victory and Hope: Jubilation Amid the Pandemic A writer or poet with only a dark message does not lift up her own spirit, and that of the readers. If writing is therapy, if it is cathartic, then its strongest ingredient is hope and optimism. Releasing anger and rage means also remaining hopeful and having a strong sense of optimism that things will get better. In this section, I showcase two poems that have a strong sense of jubilation. In “Kamala, Mamala, Lalala,” I celebrate the choice of Kamala Harris by Joe Biden as a running mate. It was a significant move that 185

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makes her the first woman Vice President of the USA. She is a strong and tenacious woman who also prides herself as a mother of two daughters. Her daughters call her Mamala, therefore the rhyme that makes the song a celebration that sounds like a lullaby. I sing to this victory with the rest of Black, Asian, Caribbean, and many women from all over the world who see themselves in her. Kamala’s victory is celebrated by all women, and that is the main object of this poem. Taking leave from the pandemic, this poem was cathartic as it was a release from the stressful days we had lived under the masks and social distancing every day.

“Kamala, Mamala, Lalala” Kamala, your name rhymes With the years of want and wait Of many a woman wishing and reaching To the place of being and serving In an office of honor and grace Kamala it is your turn “Let me speak,” you said with grace When your voice was shut down and muffled again And you spoke with power and calm Projecting the potency of representation To the voices of sisters and mothers Silenced and shunned for many a century

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Kamala tell them to let you speak Mamala your title rhymes With many a mama and grandma and sister and daughter Watching and waiting for time and tide To spread their wings and fly to sky

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To reach the apex, decide and write Laws, regulations, pieces of rules That govern a nation with fairness and truth Mamala your daughters are ready Lalala your song rhymes With the inner longing of daughters of the earth Sitting and standing and walking and struggling Under the reins of no recognition Crying tears of “who will hear us?” Enduring second and third and no positions Surviving the reigns of oppression and exploitation Abiding by laws that demean their person Receiving less than their worth of work Kamala take the luminary podium Kamala, Mamala, Lalala Africa awaits thee with song and dance As your skin fashioned as theirs

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Shines and glows in the morning sunshine And your voice rises in her rich horizon From its horn in the East To its tip in the south To its bosom in the West

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And its end in the North Kamala, Mamala, Lalala Kamala, Mamala, Lalala Dare they not wonder how you will handle Your office high up in the upper echelons Of the seat of world’s freedom For you went before and proved your Positioning your lists of firsts and more firsts in readiness for other firsts to come and stay And in none of your firsts did you fail To project the aptness of what you could be Kamala take it up and execute Kamala, Mamala, Lalala Your triumphant song is just beginning Listen to the melody of victory Dance to the rhythm of Jamaica and India Celebrate the coming of a new dawn

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Clap your hands and tap your feet Await the moons of more to come Prepare for the crescendo of your moment Chant to the tune of your own rhyme Kamala, Mamala, Lalala

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Each stanza in this poem represents something. The poem resoundingly begins with the many years women have waited for this moment. Kamala is sitting “in an office of honor and grace.” This is well befitting because, indeed, “it is your turn.” This historic moment brought healing to many women around the world, and they felt that they too had a chance to excel in the same way. The poem then goes to the character of Kamala as a person who will stand firm in the face of any kind of bullying like the one, she faced in front of Vice President Mike Pence during the debate. The fourth stanza goes on to celebrate Kamala Harris’ achievement as universally representing women’s struggles to lead. They have yearned for this moment for many years without success. I celebrate the difficult times women have faced fighting for this moment. I cannot be forgotten that the heart of a poet travels. The heart of a poet is also grounded in the places it belongs to. It tends to gravitate in place with what it knows and the sense of belonging it cultivates. That is the object of the poem, “Children of Africa, Sing!” Amid the pandemic, celebrating my continent of Africa was a way of connecting with my home. It was a way of communicating with the land that brought me up. I take a geographical, cultural, musical, religious, and an anthropological odyssey into the continent. It is an encouragement to Mother Africa to never give up even though her beauty, richness, versatility, and abilities have never been fully recognized or realized on the globe.

“Children of Africa, Sing” Children of Africa, sing Sing to the tune of the drum Sing to the ululations of your mothers and sisters Sing to the chanting of your fathers and sons Sing to the tune of the djembe and the mbira Project your voice For above and beneath your hills Lie the blessings that cover and protect you

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From generations and generations of plunder Children of Africa, sing Children of Africa, dance To the musical prowess within your soul Dance to the melodies of the Bakisiimba

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Dance to the rigor of the lipala, and the dodo Dance and tap your feet to the tune of the isicathulo Tell your tales with the talking drums of the West The gangan, the lunna, and the tamma Wait not to dance to the beat of your own tune Bequeathed from your fathers and forefathers Children of Africa, dance Children of Africa, speak Speak with the rich dialects bestowed upon thee Speak with the click, and the diphthong, and the tone Bestowed upon you by Rubanga himself, Nyakalaga Delivered to you by Mukama, from the hills of the Ruwenzori Sealed from the mountaintops of Kilimanjaro to your east To the foothills of Makheka and the Sinai of old Speak to your heritage with your tongue Tell of your gold, and your waters, and your grain Children of Africa, speak

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Children of Africa, celebrate Celebrate the beauty of mother and sister and daughter With skin black and brown radiating under the equatorial sun With arms and hearts strong to gather and pick her children Feeding, consoling, embracing

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Nurturing with the wisdom in her stories Of Anansi the spider, and Sungura the hare Celebrate the posture that stands and walks with pride To balance the waterpot and baby, on head and bosom Children of Africa, celebrate Children of Africa, sing Relent not to subjugation Succumb not to suffering Fret not to calamity For deep within you lies the strength of the Zulu warrior Deep within you lies the regal abilities of the Pharaohs Inside you are the fountains of the strong flowing waters of the Nile In your veins flow the powers of the roaring waterfalls of Kalandula Sing with pride of your inner grit

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Children of Africa, sing While writing this poem, I found myself uplifted as an African, celebrating her music in the first stanza. The musical diversity of Africa is undoubtedly one that is to be celebrated as vibrant and diverse. I mention the different kinds of traditional instruments and dances that are found in the continent. The first stanza tells it all. The second stanza is about the dances that are found in the continent, giving examples from different parts of Africa, from the north to the south. Some dances have a history. For example, the isicathulo, also known as the gumboot dance, was started by miners who used to entertain themselves in the mines while they were far away from home for lengthy periods of time. When they visited the village, they took the dance with them and that was how it became popular. The poem also celebrates the many languages in the continent, the landscape of the continent including rivers and falls, and also the gift of storytelling that the continent is deeply endowed with.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Autoethnographic poetry is an area of research that is yet to be explored in depth and breadth. Considering that for many years research was only seen as objective and for exploring issues concerning other “subjects,” there are still many avenues to explore autoethnographic research. More so, narratives in autoethnography have made appearance in research circles for some time now. Yet, autoethnographic poetic research is still a rarity. Since writing poetry is a known practice, people writing poetry should include their poetry as data and analyze it in the research circles. From these poems, I can attest that the writing process was therapeutic. I, however, do not know how readers would receive them or what they would feel as they read them. Research can be done, not only about this set of poetry but also other poetry that claims to have therapeutic effects on the writer. How do the readers react? This would form a great basis for research. I would, for example, like to give these poems to readers and ask them what emotions, if any, emerge from reading them. Knowing that the answers would be varied, I would know if the content was cathartic or if it is evoked feelings of anger instead. Crisis writing during COVID 19 featured here is born from my feelings. There is an avenue to ask others to write their own poetry not only regionally but also globally. How are different cultures responding to the pandemic around the world? Also, do these writers consider writing their poetry as offering a healing process to their anxieties surrounding COVID 19? I would probably get various responses or different kinds of poetry as different cultures have responded to social distancing and masks differently. Issues such as elections and celebrations of victories are also not responded to in the same way by people of different parties or globally. Not everyone would celebrate the choice of Kamala Harris as the next Vice President, for example. Not everyone would see the historical significance of her being chosen for this position either. It would be interesting to see some poetic reactions if at all there is a way to elicit these among peers or students of English. This would also go beyond autoethnographic research, thus expanding the field of poetry as data. For example, the reactions of people around the world to Biden and Harris election has been varied. What kind of poetry might emerge from this? As evidenced from these examples, there are many avenues for research around this topic that can be explored, and they cannot be fully exhausted. Crisis moments are fodder for the writer’s mind and pen, and the possibilities are endless.

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CONCLUSION In this chapter, I have presented and analyzed seven poems that I wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the year 2020, COVID 19 took control of the world. There were also matters of racism that rocked the USA and the world, especially the killing of George Floyd. As I dealt with these matters, I found writing poetry to be therapeutic. It would be remiss not to point out that the heart of a poet undergoes its own healing as s/he writes poetry. Looking at the situations around me in 2020, things always seemed insurmountable. However, through writing poetry, I tried to make sense of them and draw strength from the words that I was penning down. As I wrote, I also thought of my readers. I hope that my work of art and expression will bring enjoyment and also healing as they read my poetry. Most of all, the voice of hope rings through this poetry despite the hardships that we went through in 2020. This, I believe, is the cornerstone of the catharsis that is the true healing power of writing. Looking into the future with hope, and celebrating the mundane, makes life worth living. Though 2020 may have 192

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gone, and many wished it away, it will be remembered as a dark year by many. This writing is here to alleviate this darkness and shine some light on it. That is why I especially wrote the poem “Children of Africa, Sing.”

REFERENCES Adams, T. E., Jones, S. H., & Ellis, C. (2014). Introduction to autoethnography. In Autoethnography: Understanding qualitative research (pp. 1-20). https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pitt-ebooks/detail. action?docID=1784095 Cable News Network (CNN). (2020). CNN Facts first: This is a mask. YouTube. Retrieved October, 15, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jwdoAF1kxo Gallagher, D. M. (1996). Poetry as therapy: A reading of selected poems by Dickinson, Sexton, and Gallagher (Doctoral dissertation, University of New York, Stony Brook). http://pitt.idm.oclc.org/ login?url=https://searchproquest.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/docview/304314447?accountid=14709 Hanauer, D. (2021). Mourning Writing: A Poetic Autoethnography on the Passing of My Father. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 37–44. doi:10.1177/1077800419898500 Hanci-Azizoglu, E., & Alawdat, M. (2020). Expressive multilingual writing: A transformational healing skill for a pandemic challenge. In E. B. Hanci-Azizgolu & N. Kavakli (Eds.), Futuristic and linguistic perspectives on teaching writing to second language students (pp. 235–250). IGI Global. Harris, J. (2006). Psychoanalysis and community poetry workshops. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 11(2), 224–231. doi:10.1057/palgrave.pcs.2100086 Hoffman, L., & Granger, N. Jr. (2015). Introduction. In L. Hoffman & N. Granger Jr., (Eds.), Stay awhile: Poetic narratives and multiculturalism and diversity (pp. 9–17). University Professors Press. Leeser, B. (2016). Poetry on the way to healing. Journal of Humanities Therapy, 7(1), 71–84. http:// www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE07999807 Ngunjiri, F., Hernandez, C., & Chang, H. (2010). Living autoethnography: Connecting life and research. Journal of Research Practice, 6(1).

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Petzold, H. G., & Orth, I. (2005). Poesie und Therapie. Über die Heilkraft der Sprache. Poesietherapie, Bibliotherapie, Literarische Werkstätten. 2. Auflage. Wakeman, B. E. (2014). Poetry as research and as therapy. Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies, 32(1), 50-68. https://doi.org.pitt.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0265378814537767

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Anansi: The spider who is featured in the tale from the Ashanti people of West Africa. Anansi is known to be skilled and wise. He is never defeated by animals bigger and larger than her. Bakisiimba: A traditional music and dance of the Baganda in Uganda, Eastern Africa. Djembe: A West African drum played with bare hands. Dodo: A traditional dance of the Luo of Eastern Africa. Gangan: A talking drum from Western Africa. Its sound can be used to mimic human speech. Isicathulo: The gumboot dance from South Africa. The dancers wear gumboots while dancing. Kalandula: Also spelled Calandula, are waterfalls in the Malanje Province of Angola. Lipala: A traditional dance of the Luhyia people of Western Kenya, East Africa. Lunna: Talking drum of West Africa. Mbira: A traditional thumb piano musical instrument from the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Mukama: God or King in Luganda language of the Baganda people of Uganda. Nyakalaga: The omnipresent God of the Luo people of Eastern Africa. Rubanga: The name of God in Dholuo language of Eastern Africa. Sungura: The hare (Swahili). The hare s featured in East African stories is known to be cunning. Tamma: Talking drum of West Africa.

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Chapter 11

Rhetorical Evolution in Crisis Times:

A Writing Teacher’s Self-Investigation Sarah E. DeCapua University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA

ABSTRACT In this self-investigation, a frst-year writing teacher explored her rhetoric before and after the shift to remote learning, which occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the Spring 2020 semester. Based on scholarship in situational rhetoric and feminist ethic of care, the author investigated her written communications to the second language writers in her classes. Specifcally, she scrutinized the course policies and procedures outlined in the course syllabus and in her written announcements posted in the course’s learning management system (LMS). Grounding her discussion in extant literature, the author explored the implications of her rhetorical evolution on her future teaching and speculated on how the evolution would guide her instructional responses to future educational crises.

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INTRODUCTION The promising notion that January 1, 2020, would usher in a contemporary version of the Roaring Twenties of the last century was turned by February to concern about a coronavirus and by March to fears about the global pandemic called COVID-19 that brought words such as “lockdown,” “quarantine,” “social distancing,” “novel,” and “unprecedented” into common parlance. In response to the pandemic, schools throughout the United States were forced to shut down and to shift all instruction online. Remote learning looked different at different institutions, but in every institution and community, the conversation among stakeholders turned to envisioning what remote learning should look like in individual schools and classrooms. Along with the confusion and anxiety that surrounded pivoting so rapidly away from in-person instruction toward remote learning came the stress of creating and maintaining online courses that achieved the same course goals and learning objectives that had been pursued via face-to-face instruction. Educators’ conversations surrounding practical methods of moving courses online quickly DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch011

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turned to conversations surrounding facilitating student success with a new and, for many, unfamiliar platform of course delivery. Among the challenges were keeping track of students who might be ill or sharing living space with an ill family member; students who had no, slow, or unreliable internet access; students who had no computer, laptop, or tablet on which to complete assignments; and students who had limited access to technology because it was shared among members of the household. Other students faced additional challenges to participating in remote learning and to completing online assignments because of learning disabilities. These challenges were reflected in data revealing that the national average of students in Kindergarten to 12th grade who failed to log in to their schools’ portals to access their schoolwork between March and June 2020 was 20 percent (Hobbs & Hawkins, 2020). At some secondary and post-secondary institutions were international students, who were attempting to return to their home countries at a time when international travel from the United States was severely curtailed; as a result, their parents and family members back home watched and listened to news reports about the dire public health crisis in the United States and, naturally, feared for the well-being of their faraway student-scholars. Instructors, knowing their students faced these challenging situations, participated in virtual water-cooler conversations on social media and shared advice in virtual program and department meetings. The result was shifting their teaching methods to adapt to remote learning and to refine the ways they related to their students. The author, too, found herself relying not only on these conversations, but also drawing on extensive and ongoing experience with best practices in online pedagogy; her common sense as an experienced educator; and, perhaps most important of all, her desire to be humane and ethical, not only in her teaching, but also in the rhetoric she used in course policies and written communications with her Second Language Writing students. This chapter explores the author’s rhetoric and ethos before and after her institution shifted instruction to remote learning, grounds her rhetorical practices in extant scholarship, and speculates on the implications of her rhetorical evolution during Spring 2020 to her future teaching.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Bitzer (1968) argued that rhetoric is situational and challenged the assumption that discourse gives existence to a situation; “on the contrary, it is the situation that calls the discourse into existence” (p. 2). Bitzer theorized: [R]hetoric is pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself; it functions ultimately to produce actions or change in the world; it performs some task. In short, rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action. . . . To say that rhetorical discourse comes into being in order to effect change is altogether general. We need to understand that a particular discourse comes into existence because of some specific condition or situation which invites utterance. (pp. 3-4) Bitzer maintained that a situation dictates the observations rhetors make, as well as the rhetor’s spoken and physical responses; [the situation] “constrains the words which are uttered [so] verbal responses to demands imposed by a situation are clearly as functional and necessary as physical responses” (p. 5).

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In rhetoric, exigence is an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts the rhetor to write or speak. Bitzer (1968) contended, “In every rhetorical situation, there will be at least one controlling exigence which functions as the organizing principle: it specifies the audience to be addressed and the change to be affected” (p. 6). Glenn (2009) noted that a rhetorical exigence is “a problem that can be resolved or changed by discourse (or language). . . . All successful rhetoric (whether verbal or visual) is an authentic response to an exigence, a real reason to send a message” (p. 127). Killingsworth (2005) wrote, “Exigence has to do with what prompts the author to write in the first place, a sense of urgency, a problem that requires attention right now, a need that must be met, a concept that must be understood before the audience can move to a next step” (p. xxi). In what proved to be a prescient explanation, Mauk and Metz (2016) defined exigence as,

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something as direct and intense as a power outage, which might prompt an official to persuade everyone to “stay calm” or to “assist those in need.” An exigence may be more subtle or complex, like the discovery of a new virus, which might prompt medical officials to persuade the public how to change its behavior. Exigence is part of a situation. It is the critical component that makes people ask the hard questions: What is it? What caused it? What good is it? What are we going to do? What happened? What is going to happen? (p. 227) Bitzer (1968) wrote that an exigence, when asserted, is “an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be” (p. 6). In other words, an exigence is a pressing problem in the world, something to which people must attend. Bitzer called it a rhetorical exigence, which functions as the “ongoing principle” of a situation; the situation develops around its “controlling exigence” (p. 7). Mauk and Metz (2016) explained exigence is rhetorical when it is capable of positive modification and when positive modification requires discourse or can be assisted by discourse (p. 228). As examples of rhetorical exigence, Bitzer (1968) provided air pollution (p. 7); Jasinski (2001) provided racism (p. 157). Of course, exigence is not the only component of a rhetorical situation. The rhetor also must consider the audience being addressed and the constraints that present obstacles to the rhetoric. The rhetorical concept of ethos encompasses the individual agent, as well as the location or position from which that person speaks or writes. Reynolds (1993) argued that ethos “shifts and changes over time, across texts, and around competing spaces” (p. 326). Some scholars (see Bruffee, 1986; Katzko, 2002) insisted that rather than being measurable traits displayed by an individual rhetor, ethos is socially driven; it is “a complex set of characteristics constructed by a group, sanctioned by that group, and more readily recognizable to others who belong or who share similar values or experiences” (Reynolds, 1993, p. 327). Graham (2018) echoed Harris (1989) with the assertion that a writer is both individual and a part of several communities. Feminist scholars claim that ethos can be found in the very marginalization that has kept them silent in male-dominated hierarchies. Reynolds (1993) wrote of the epistemological significance of gender: When [the] knower is located as a female in this culture, knowledge is experienced, constructed, and recalled in nonhierarchical, nonlinear, and nonobjective forms. In other words, female knowers adapt to their marginalized position in a male-dominated culture by seeing differently—and learning different things. These differences are finally being reconsidered as valuable rather than wrong. (p. 330)

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Rhetoric and composition scholars Ronald (1990) and LeFevre (1987) suggested ethos is constructed neither in a community nor in marginalization. Focusing on ethos in written texts, Ronald investigated the ways writers negotiate location, referring to “the tension between the speaker’s private and public self” (p. 39). However, LeFevre argued that ethos occurs in the “between” as writers struggle to establish authority for themselves and their claims, as well as to identify their own positions where various communities intersect. Harkin (1989) asserted that she constructed her ethos by writing consciously, tracing and retracing her thought processes. Harkin acknowledged that she earned goodwill with her audience through her ethos, which she used to facilitate a connection with and to her audience and to establish her authority as a writer. Related to the idea of connecting to and with her audience is reminiscent of Noddings’s (1984) ideal of professional practice grounded in caring, which involves a “desire for the other’s well-being” (p. 19), and a commitment to helping others to grow and to achieve their potential. It entails being receptive and responsive to others’ needs and desires and requires a “commitment of self” to others (p. 13). Caring implies a willingness and ability to be available to others, to give generously of oneself to others, and to distance oneself from one’s own needs and desires. It necessitates:

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stepping outside one’s own personal frame of reference into the other’s. When we care, we consider the other’s point of view, his (sic) objective needs, and what he (sic) expects of us. Our attention, our mental engrossment is on the cared for, not on ourselves. (p. 24) While feminist perspectives “embrace resilience as a strategy of growth and renewal” (Flynn, Sotirin, & Brady, 2012, p. 25), feminist scholarly critiques have cautioned that the ethic of caring may reinforce gender stereotypes directed toward women in academia and may perpetuate collective disadvantages experienced by women. Moreover, when female academics adhere to an ethic of caring, they can inadvertently “end up celebrating what amounts to a restricted sphere for women” (Acker & Feuerverger, 1996, p. 402), thus diminishing their capacity to provide empowering gender role models for female students (see also McDermott, 2019; Sumsion, 2000). Royster and Kirsch (2012) advocated for feminist rhetorical research that “disrupt[s] our assumptions regularly through reflective and reflexive questions” (21). More specifically, they proposed “reclaim[ing] the genre of meditation in current scholarly practice in order to claim strategic contemplation deliberately as taking the time, space, and resources to think about, through, and around [writing program administrators’] work as an important meditative dimension of scholarly productivity” and point out that strategic contemplation “becomes especially useful when traditional, more publicly rendered sources of information are in short supply” (21). Willard-Traub (2018) proposed strategic contemplation as “an appropriate and useful orientation for administering writing programs in the context of internationalization” (p. 51) and broadened her focus to argue the importance of strategic contemplation to individual instructors. Situational rhetoric, rhetorical exigence, and feminist ethos, particularly strategic contemplation, guided the author’s self-investigation.

CONTEXT AND TIMELINE This chapter’s author is a full-time faculty member in the First-Year Writing (FYW) program at a large land-grant university in southern New England, USA, teaching courses primarily in the Second Language Writing program. The university population includes a sizable number of international students at both 198

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the undergraduate and graduate levels. In Fall 2017, the most recent year for which data were available, of the nearly 4,000 combined undergraduate and graduate international students enrolled at the main and regional campuses of the author’s institution, more than 60 percent came from China. More than half of those were undergraduates (L. Blansett, personal communication, February 11, 2020). Those undergraduate international students typically begin their university careers in the Second Language Writing program within FYW. Courses in the Second Language Writing program meet two times each week and the course cap is fifteen students. In Spring 2020, the author taught two sections of the course, a total of thirty undergraduate international students. In preparation for writing this chapter, the author investigated her rhetoric before and after her institution’s shift to remote learning. Specifically, the author examined her Spring 2020 Second Language Writing course syllabus and the course announcements she posted for her classes throughout that semester, identifying differences in her rhetoric and ethos from teaching her writing classes in person, in traditional classrooms, to teaching them remotely. Bitzer’s contention that a situation gives rise to a specific discourse was readily apparent during the Spring 2020 semester with the shift from traditional, in-person classroom teaching to remote learning. The author’s student-centered pedagogy as an overarching concern reflected Peary’s (2014) argument that “pedagogy is a rhetorical act if we define teaching as an instructor’s crafted relationship with students in order to foster learning” (p. xi). Of the rhetorical appeals, Aristotle thought ethos the most influential, and some theorists equated ethos with character, which “in many instances, is the force of an argument” (Alcorn, 1994, emphasis in original). Gregory (2001) suggested ethos ranks as a powerful rhetorical force with students; it is “an existential invitation to, an existential reason for, learning” because “without using the word ethos, ethos is the primary concern of students” (pp. 77-78). Elbow (1983) made a similar claim, replacing ethos with stance: “For it is one’s spirit or stance that is at issue here, not the mechanics of how to organize a course in semester units or how to deal in tests, grading, or credits” (p. 338). Reminiscent of Elbow’s argument, the author’s feminist ethos was evident in her prioritizing stance over mechanics in the shift to remote learning during the pandemic lockdown. At the author’s institution, the Spring 2020 semester began in mid-January, giving the author and her students eight weeks—sixteen class sessions—to spend on in-person instruction. As the response to COVID-19 escalated the crisis, rumors began on campus that classes would shift to remote learning. In early March, university communications indicated that remote learning would take place for only two weeks, as part of the social effort to utilize quarantine to avoid overwhelming the state’s emergency rooms. Shortly before the university’s spring break in mid-March, the university officially announced the shutdown of its campuses and the move to two weeks of remote learning, which would take place following the break. However, at the beginning of the break, the university mandated remote instruction for the remainder of the semester. As a result, the first eight weeks of the semester—from January to mid-March 2020—occurred in the physical classroom. The second seven weeks of the semester—from late March until early May—were virtual, utilizing the institution’s LMS and a web conferencing platform where office hours and student conferences took place.

DISCUSSION The COVID-19 pandemic was the ultimate example of Bitzer’s (1968) assertion that “a particular discourse comes into existence because of some specific condition or situation which invites utterance” (p. 4). The pandemic resulted in the move to remote instruction, which, in turn, resulted in the author’s 199

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shift to accommodate the rhetorical situation. Before her institution shut down in mid-March 2020, the author’s rhetorical choices were based in a feminist ethic of care, but one that was demonstrated mostly through practical applications, and communicated through course objectives and learning goals established by the First-Year Writing program in which she taught; the course policies and procedures outlined in the syllabus and reviewed in class; and the high academic standards she typically maintained for her students, defining “high academic standards” as expecting her students to reach their full potential and helping them to achieve their personal learning goals. This standard of high expectations reflected the results of the seminal study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) that teachers’ erroneous expectations of their students could affect teachers’ treatment of their students, and that ultimately student achievement altered in line with their teachers’ initial expectations. Among many other scholars over the years, the work of Murphy, Weil, Hallinger, and Mitman (1982) echoed Rosenthal and Jacobson’s results. Recently, Wang, Rubie-Davies, and Meissel (2019) investigated the effect of teachers’ expectations on students’ academic success (see also Andersen, 2018; Archambault, Janosz, & Chouinard, 2012; Ready & Chu, 2015; Woolley, Struchens, Gilbert & Martin, 2010). After the author’s institution shifted instruction to remote learning, her rhetorical choices were based, again, in an ethic of care, but those choices took both practical and contemplative forms. In practical terms, her choices were based in best practices for distance learning, such as creating and maintaining connection with and among the students and flexibility in assignment structure and deadlines (see Babu, 2014; Budhai & Williams, 2016; Bull & Keengwe, 2019; Cifuentes, Janney, & Guerra, 2016; Information Management Resources Association, 2018; Klonoski, 2009; Ringler, Schubert, & Deem, 2015; Salvo, Shelton, & Welch, 2019; Thomson, Auhl, & Uys, 2019). The author’s rhetorical choices also were based on considerations of technology (access, reliability, availability) in relation to the students; the effects of quarantine (loneliness, isolation) on the students; and sociocultural/political concerns the students potentially faced (e.g., international students who were Chinese may have felt concern about encountering bias from strangers who might blame them for having brought the virus with them from China when they arrived/returned to the United States in mid-January to pursue their studies). The author was cognizant of the fact that external factors (e.g., technology) could have as large an impact as internal ones (e.g., loneliness, bias fears) on students’ motivation and successful completion of the course. In contemplative terms, the author’s choices were based on extending grace and justice toward her students, who had been forced into a difficult academic situation through no fault of their own, and constantly asking herself, “If I were the student in this situation, what would I need from my teacher?” This emotional positioning was reminiscent of Wenger’s (2015) assertion that, “It would be a greater critical (and feminist) gesture for us to revise our pedagogical rules and view awareness of our emotional positioning . . . in the writing classroom than to simply dismiss feeling altogether” (p. 133). Further, the author’s desire to provide the students with a smooth transition to remote learning that included continued facilitation of personal connections with the students echoed Clinnin (2020), who wrote that educators’ response efforts to a crisis should “reestablish safety and security during and immediately after a crisis event” (p. 134). The author’s priority was to help her students feel secure in their academic experience in her class; that, despite the crisis they faced, they would have some normalcy in the virtual space of her classroom. Regardless of whether instruction took place in person or remotely, the author is an experienced instructor; by 2020, she had been teaching writing for nearly two decades in the physical classroom, as well as online. While relevant scholarship in the areas of best practices and Second Language Writing instruction are critical components of her teaching ethos, she also relies heavily on her own experiences 200

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as an educator because, as the idiom says, “Experience is the best teacher.” Beyond the idiom, however, are education scholars who have explored the concept that teacher preparation is best rooted in mentoring and field practice (see Goodwin, Roegman, & Reagan, 2016; Montrieux, Raes, & Schellens, 2017; Moore, 2013; Moscon & Thompson, 2013). Drawing on vast experience proved essential while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, as reflected in early work in this area (see Clavijo, 2020; Corbera, Anguelovski, Honey-Rosés, & Ruiz-Mallén, 2020; Major, 2020; Miller, 2020). Likewise, an ethic of care in education has long been the focus of scholarly investigation (see Edling & Frelin, 2016; Gluchmanová, 2015; Hawk, 2017; McBee, 2007; Noddings, 1984; Tarlow, 1996; Wentzel, 1997), and a few authors have focused on an ethic of care specifically in response to COVID-19 (see Agoratus, 2020; Evans, 2020; Jones, 2020). While drawing on best practices, a wealth of experience as an educator, and a feminist ethic of care that drew heavily on strategic contemplation, the author investigated the rhetoric she used in course policies and written communications with her Second Language Writing students before and after instruction shifted to remote learning. Table 1 shows four examples from the writing course’s original syllabus regarding class policies and procedures, as well as the revised syllabus language regarding those same policies and procedures after the course shifted to remote learning. The original syllabus was developed for the in-person class, which met for the first eight weeks of the semester. The revised syllabus was posted to the course LMS for the final seven weeks of the semester. In Table 1, the syllabus examples from the first eight weeks of the course, during which the class met in-person, reflected the business of the course. The example course policies and procedures communicated information about the course and defined the author’s expectations, as well as the students’ responsibilities. The course policies and procedures were written using rhetoric that was informational and polite, but directive, and they demonstrated the contractual nature of the syllabus. Wommack (2017) suggested reimagining “course policies” as “course values” or “course plans” (p. 515) and Harnish and Bridges (2011) would call these syllabus examples “cold” because of their authoritarian tone (p. 322). The examples also reflected the generic nature of the policies as they applied to all classes and did not indicate familiarity between the author and her students because the semester had not yet started when the original syllabus was written, so she did not know them yet. The revised syllabus examples from the final seven weeks of class, after the course shifted to remote learning, reflected Bitzer’s assertion that the situation creates the rhetoric. The pandemic lockdown became a rhetorical exigence for the author because she was required to respond to the situation (i.e., the shift to remote learning) and to use her feminist rhetorical ethos to address the situation. Her tone in the examples was more familiar than in the first set of examples; Harnish and Bridges (2011) would call these examples “warm” because the tone was friendly and approachable (p. 322). The rhetoric was a combination of directive/suggestive. The author’s attempt to balance the realities of the difficulties of remote learning and the institutional and programmatic expectation of meaningful learning was apparent in her rhetoric (e.g., #3, where major assignments were due on a particular day and time, but a 48-hour grace period for late work provided the students with extra time they may have needed). The rhetoric was invitational, rather than commanding (see, especially, #1). Overall, the revised policies demonstrated the author’s feminist ethos of care and her practice of Willard-Traub’s (2018) “strategic contemplation” (p. 46) to modify those policies. Although Willard-Traub’s proposition to utilize strategic contemplation referred to the administration of writing programs as a whole, as an instructor within a writing program, the author found strategic contemplation to be crucial to administering her course when it shifted to remote learning. 201

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Table 1. Representative examples of the author’s syllabus rhetoric before (left column) and after (right column) the shift to remote learning Original Syllabus Language (First 8 weeks of class, On campus)

Revised Syllabus Language (Final 7 weeks of class, Remote learning)

1) Attendance is not taken in this class. However, there is more to class than taking up space in a chair, so being prepared for each class by reading/annotating the assigned texts and actively participating in large- and small-group discussions, in-class writing, etc., are important activities for success in this course.

1) Posting an original thread and replies to classmates on the Discussion Boards, as well as on-time submission of your assignments, will count as active participation in the course. Due to the uncertainties of technology and the rapidly changing public health situation, feel free to use the 48-hour grace period after the deadline to submit your work.

2) Timely arrival in class is important to reduce distractions for your classmates and teacher. I start class on time, so if I’m talking to the class when you arrive, you’re late. Except for emergency situations, if you arrive late three or more times, it will adversely affect your course grade.

2) As an online, asynchronous class, logging in can be done at your convenience, so complete your assignments as your schedule allows. However, please use the assignment due dates, including the 48-hour grace periods, to help you plan your class work.

3) Major assignments are due by the end of the class session indicated on your syllabus calendar. Late assignments will not be accepted. Assignments submitted after the end of the class session when they are due will receive a zero grade.

3) Major assignments are due in [the course LMS] at 11:59 p.m. (ET, U.S.*) on the days indicated in your revised syllabus calendar. Due to the uncertainties of technology and the rapidly changing public health situation, take advantage of the 48-hour grace period whenever you need it.

4) Bring to each class your course text, something to write on, something to write with, and a method to save your in-class notes and writing. If you use a laptop or tablet equipped with the E-book and E-notes, bring it to every class.

4) Depending on your location, you may experience technology issues, such as slow or intermittent access to wi-fi, or you may be sharing your laptop/tablet with a roommate or family member. If you experience technology issues, or if sharing materials makes it difficult for you to access your course text and [the LMS], please let me know so we can discuss extensions to your assignment deadlines.

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*ET, U.S. indicates Eastern Time in the United States, which reflected the location of the author’s institution.

Table 2 shows five examples from the Announcements page of the course’s LMS. From left to right, the first set of announcements was posted during the first eight weeks of class, while classes were still meeting in-person. The second set of announcements was posted during the second seven weeks of class, while classes were moved to remote learning. In Table 2, the announcement examples from the first eight weeks of the course, during which the class met in-person, reflected the author’s use of the LMS Announcements tool to post reminders and relevant information about the class. Their tone is professional and direct; the content is brief. An example of the author’s use of the announcements as merely an extension of her in-class announcements can be seen in #2, in which she mentioned that the homework had already been announced in class. An example of using the Announcements tool to post relevant information can be seen in #5, in which the author informed the students that she had finished commenting of their drafts and requested that they read their individual comments before the next class meeting. The announcement rhetoric was polite, but also reflected the author’s knowledge of and rapport with her students (e.g., #3, in which she invited the students to visit her during office hours; Harnish and Bridges (2011) would characterize this tone as “warm”). The rhetoric in these examples was more friendly than those in the left column of Table 1, because the author’s announcements were posted to students she knew from her classroom and she had begun to establish a rapport with them. However, the announcements from the first half of the semester were still largely used as a tool to complement classroom instruction.

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Table 2. Representative examples of the author’s announcement rhetoric before (left column) and after (right column) the shift to remote learning Announcements posted in LMS (First 8 weeks of class, in-person)

Announcements posted in LMS (Second 7 weeks of class, remote learning)

1) Please complete the homework assignment listed in your syllabus schedule and announced in class before the next class meeting.

1) Please remember to complete your homework, which is [specific items listed, including titles and page numbers of readings].

2) Complete the Discussion Board assignment listed in your syllabus schedule and announced in the class schedule before the next class meeting.

2) Please complete the Discussion Board [title], which you can find here [link] before [date] at 11:59 p.m. (ET, U.S.*) Don’t forget about the 48-hour grace period. Use it whenever you need.

3) My office hours have changed slightly. You’re welcome to visit me in my office on [days/times]. I’ve revised your syllabus here in [the LMS] to reflect this change.

3) I will be available in [the LMS conference tool] tomorrow [date] at [hours of availability]. If you have questions, concerns, or just want to say hello, I encourage you to join me in the session. [The LMS conference tool] can be found in the content menu on the left side of your screen. I have included a screen shot to show you where to find [the conference tool]. Please note that you are not required to join me in this session, but I’m available if you need me. I hope to see you!

4) I understand that the [recent tragedy on campus] may lead you to seek support. The university is here for you. Keep in mind that the following support services are available to you: [list of support services]. Contact info for all these services is listed in your syllabus or on [institutional URL].

4) As we navigate together the difficulties of remote learning, quarantine, rescheduled/canceled flights that delay your trips home to loved ones, loneliness, fear, and general uncertainty, please keep in mind that the university has a variety of support services available to you. Here is a list of support services and how to contact them. They can meet with you online to talk about your feelings/concerns. I’m here for you, too. [This announcement was accompanied by a detailed list of services and contact information for support personnel. The list was not included here for brevity.]

5) I have finished commenting on your drafts for [Assignment 1], so please read those comments before the next class meeting. We’ll talk in class about some of the common issues I noticed in your writing and we’ll take time during the workshop to talk about specific feedback on individual work.

5) I have finished commenting on your drafts for [assignment name]. Overall, they look great! I can see how hard you’ve been working and I appreciate your efforts. Please go to [link] to sign up for a [web conference] meeting with me so we can talk about your writing and I can answer any questions or concerns you may have about my comments or about developing your draft as you make progress toward the final draft. Keep up the good work! I’m looking forward to seeing you in [the web conference tool]!

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*ET, U.S. indicates Eastern Time in the United States, which reflected the location of the author’s institution.

The LMS announcement examples from the final seven weeks of class, after the course shifted to remote learning, were more specific than those from the first half of the semester, when class took place in a traditional classroom. The announcements reflected the author’s desire to continue the goodwill she had already established with her students (see Harkin, 1989). Her feminist ethic of care and strategic contemplation of the needs of the students was also evident throughout the revised announcements, as she provided specific details to assist the students in their course navigation (e.g., #1, in which she listed titles and page numbers of assigned readings; #2, in which she included the title of and link to the discussion board; #3, in which she included instructions and a screen shot for joining a conference; #4, in which she included a detailed list, with contact information, of student support services, but it has been edited for brevity here; #5, in which she included instructions for joining a web conference). The LMS announcement examples from the final seven weeks of class were also more encouraging than those from the first half of the semester. The author’s use of phrases and sentences such as, “I en-

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courage you” (#3); “I hope to see you!” (#3); “As we navigate together” (#4); “I’m here for you” (#4); “Keep up the good work!” (#5) and “I’m looking forward to seeing you in [the web conference tool]!” (#5) reflected rhetorical choices guided by her feminist ethic of care (see Clinnin, 2020; Royster & Kirsch, 2012; Wenger, 2015). As in the revised course policies in Table 1, strategic contemplation was also evident in the modification of the announcements. Although not reflected in the table, the frequency of announcements changed, as well. In the first half of the semester, announcements were posted when necessary. In the second half of the semester, announcements were posted, at minimum, every class day, in an effort to keep in touch with students so they would feel connected to the course and to their instructor; establishing and maintaining connection to and among online students is considered a best practice in online pedagogy (see Budhai & Williams, 2016; Bull & Keengwe, 2019; Salvo, Shelton, & Welch, 2019). The revised syllabus and announcements in both tables were reminiscent of Harkin’s (1989) desire to establish goodwill with readers and reflected the rapport the author had developed with her students in the weeks prior to the shift to remote learning. The first seven weeks of the semester gave the author and the students time to get to know each other on an academic level, as well as on a personal one. The author’s usual habit in the traditional classroom was to arrive in the classroom several minutes early to engage her students in conversation. Drawing from her feminist ethic of care, the practice gave her an opportunity to learn about the students and what they cared about, and to discern if they were having issues as either new students or as international ones (or both). It also gave the students an opportunity to practice their spoken English skills. Classroom interaction between the instructor and the students determines the success of teaching and learning activities (Hagenauer & Volet, 2014). Good classroom interaction is categorized as an important factor in student learning and enhancing effective teaching and learning activities (Frisby & Martin, 2010; Webb & Barett, 2014); positively impacts the instructor’s effectiveness on students’ learning (Frisby & Martin, 2010; Pianta, et al., 2012; Sánchez, González, & Martínez, 2013); increases students’ academic achievement (Nguyen, 2007); and creates a positive attitude in students toward the learning activity (Pianta, et al., 2012). Further, a positive instructor-student relationship increases students’ motivation to learn and their feelings of confidence and comfort about approaching the instructor to share personal and academic issues (Sánchez, González, & Martínez, 2013). It was those first eight weeks of traditional classroom instruction that the author believed to have been crucial to laying the foundation for a positive rapport with her students and the establishment of an interactive, supportive learning environment after the shift to remote learning. The opportunity for the students to become accustomed to the author’s personality, teaching style, and voice (emotional tone, pitch, loudness, accent) were vital after the course instruction shifted to remote learning, particularly in the area of written communications from the author, in the ways the students read, “heard,” and understood her rhetoric and ethos. During individual web conferences, several students mentioned that the author’s written communications sounded like “the way [she] talk[s].” This “hearing” the author’s silent communications was reminiscent of Elbow’s (1994) assertion that, “All texts are literally silent, but most readers experience some texts as giving off more sense of sound—more of the illusion as we read that we are hearing the words” (p. 6, emphasis in original). Although Elbow referred to the voice readers give a text while they read it, the author suggests expanding Elbow’s original definition to include readers who hear specific auditory qualities during silent reading, as described in scholarship on inner reading voices, or IRVs (see Vilhauer, 2017).

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IMPLICATIONS The author did not expect to begin experiencing the implications of the evolution of her rhetoric and ethos so soon after the Spring 2020 semester concluded. Nevertheless, the lived experience of teaching through a pandemic affected the author’s rhetoric and ethos into the Fall 2020 semester, which also took place remotely. Royster and Kirsch (2012) called researchers’ own lived, embodied experience “a powerful yet often-neglected source of insight, inspiration, and passion” (p. 22) and argued for “pay[ing] attention to how lived experiences shape our [own] perspectives” (p. 22). Willard-Traub’s (2018) complementary concept, strategic contemplation, makes, time and space for contemplation, reflection, and meditation . . . and makes room for the researcher [or administrator or instructor] to acknowledge her or his own embodied

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experiences while engaging in inquiries that permit (her or him) to gain perspective from both close and distant views of a particular rhetorical situation or event. (p. 46) Strategic contemplation during the shift to remote learning in Spring 2020 informed the author’s pedagogy in Fall 2020, which proved to be the first opportunity to observe how her rhetorical evolution during the previous semester affected her communications via syllabi and announcements with her new classes of Second Language Writing students. For academia in general, the Spring 2020 semester seemed to be guided primarily by the “no one fails [the course]” mind-set, which was prevalent on social media and in program and department conversations at institutions throughout the United States as administrators and instructors planned their response to the shift to distance learning. However, the author was conflicted then about that mind-set because her university’s and program’s guidelines stipulated that instructors were expected to maintain the same amount of academic rigor that suffuses their courses when those courses are delivered in traditional classrooms. That ethical conflict required the author to make a difficult choice “because competing, highly prized values cannot be fully satisfied” (Cuban, 1992, p. 6). As the Fall 2020 semester got underway, she questioned whether the same pandemic rule of “No one fails [the course]” still applied. With little specific guidance at the institutional level regarding grading and policies for maintaining academic rigor in remote learning courses, she continued to walk what sometimes felt like a tightrope between demonstrating an ethic of care through flexibility for the sake of accommodating new students’ learning curves as they acclimated to the course LMS and the need to maintain the institution’s and FYW program’s rigorous academic standards. For example, in the physical classroom, the author routinely gave students one week to obtain their textbook(s). Students generally opted for the electronic versions of their texts, so one week to secure their required course materials was a reasonable deadline, as was the expectation that students would complete the brief homework assignment provided on the first day of class prior to the second class session. However, in the Fall 2020 semester, roughly half of the author’s students were located outside the United States, where some encountered unreliable Internet connections and/or government-imposed restrictions on their Internet use, making securing even the E-book versions of their texts difficult. With circumstances like these obviously beyond her (and her students’) control, the author responded to the situation by posting announcements extending the one-week deadline for acquiring textbooks and 205

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completing related beginning-of-semester assignments to two weeks—and, for some students, longer. The extension had the domino effect of requiring extensions of subsequent assignments that could not be completed without the texts. This example may sound ordinary and the solution obvious, but, in past semesters in which students had the option to visit the campus bookstore to obtain the course text or more easily acquire the text from online sources, the author’s patience did not typically extend so far into the semester over an issue so rudimentary as obtaining required course texts. However, the author’s lived experience of extending grace to students and flexibility toward course policies that dominated the late Spring 2020 semester continued to influence her in the Fall semester. Another example that reflected the author’s rhetorical evolution occurred during the fourth week of remote learning in Fall 2020 when a student wrote her an email claiming to have been confused about how to locate the first three assignments in the course LMS. In the physical classroom, the author had the opportunity to stress to students the importance of meeting assignment deadlines and to remind students of those deadlines verbally and with written reminders on screen or on the white board as part of the daily lesson. In the face-to-face environment, those verbal—and even written-and-read-aloud—reminders were accompanied by facial expressions, vocal intonations, and subconscious body language that stressed the importance of meeting deadlines. In the virtual classroom, however, there was no guarantee that students would read posted announcements, watch a video reminder (even a brief, one- to two-minute, video), or read the course schedule contained in the syllabus to obtain those reminders. In the spirit of an ethic of care toward online students—especially first-year students to whom the LMS was unfamiliar—but also upholding the standards for academic rigor, the author agreed to grade the student’s (very) late work. In fact, it was the prevalence of such email communications from several students that led the author to strategically contemplate disregarding the 48-hour late work policy for the remainder of the semester. The majority of her students were diligent in their communications with her, joining her during online office hours and sending frequent messages and emails. As a result, by mid-semester, the author was confident that the students were conscientiously completing the course’s work, but she was also cognizant of their need to navigate other course work and the LMS. Students’ need to balance their course work is not a new concept, but the institution’s seven modes1 of course delivery that are available to first-year students meant that a student with five courses could be navigating five different modes of delivery. Some students revealed to the author that they were struggling with the various modes in which their courses were delivered. The author’s ethic of care dictated her rhetorical response to that situation: She decided to grade all assignments, regardless of when they were submitted to the LMS. While the “no one fails [the course]” mind-set seemed less prevalent in program and department meetings and virtual water-cooler conversations during Fall 2020, the author adopted a “no work is late” mind-set in the pursuit of supporting her students’ academic success and personal well-being in light of the numerous additional challenges the students faced as remote learners.

CONCLUSION The author’s institution is an R1 ranked in the Top 25 in the United States and the campus is populated mostly by traditional students, those who enter the university directly following high school and progress steadily toward degree completion. Typically, the students are under the age of 25, are enrolled in postsecondary education full time, and do not have the major work or life responsibilities that are commonly encountered in, for example, the community college student population. As traditional students, they have 206

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fewer challenges with issues such as motivation, time management, and course access. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the general population reported increased struggles with mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations, and lack of focus, concentration, and motivation (Panchal, et al., 2020; Searing, 2020). Even traditional students for whom academic work was familiar and comfortable experienced the same issues as those that were prevalent in the general population. They struggled at the start of the Fall 2020 semester because their challenges were different from those to which they were accustomed, including: remote learning; LMSs used in varying ways depending on instructor; multiple modes of course delivery, which may have frustrated students’ abilities to distinguish among them and to negotiate them; and time zone differences. The exigency of the COVID-19 pandemic motivated the author’s rhetorical evolution and her feminist ethic of care, manifested through strategic and contemplative practices, to respond to multiple logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas to accommodate her students’ needs and to facilitate their success because “schools are important sites for the transmission and reproduction of knowledges other than that which is contained within the formal curriculum” (Coffey, 2001). For the author, ultimately, the feminist approach to managing the rapid shift to remote learning seemed to be the best response to the crisis, as indicated in her privileging of accommodating and facilitating students’ pursuits of educational outcomes over maintaining academic rigor. Further, whereas the author had in the past been reluctant to extend her feminist ethic of care beyond the practical, her evolution following the shift to remote learning found her responding through a combination of both practical and contemplative strategies. The author’s commitment to reflective practice as a means of assisting her response to the complexities, uncertainties, and ambiguities—ethical or otherwise—that occurred in her work, and her rhetorical self-investigation, provided a watershed experience to guide her instructional responses to future educational crises. This self-investigation was initially intended only to edify the author’s individual response to the rapid shift to remote learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A limitation to this self-investigation was the fact that some of the changes the author made in her course would have been necessary in non-crisis times to facilitate moving a traditional, in-person course to online delivery. However, such a self-investigation would not have occurred without the exigence of COVID-19, the response to which necessitated that rapid move from face-to-face to virtual space. Further, the author’s insights into the importance of strategic contemplation, building and maintaining rapport with her students, and the role of auditory qualities of inner reading voices would not have been explored independent of this investigation. This self-investigation ultimately contributes to the larger body of extant research regarding situational rhetoric, exigence, feminist ethos, and strategic contemplation, in general, and informs the discourse surrounding crisis response and distance learning pedagogy, specifically. Additionally, there is relevance in this self-investigation for two groups: experienced instructors and graduate students and/or early-career teachers in preparation. Experienced instructors may reflect critically on their own written discourse by examining their personal rhetoric and ethos, asking themselves, “What guides my teaching?”; “How do I communicate who I am to my students?” Graduate students and/or early-career teachers in preparation may reflect on this chapter’s discussion of auditory qualities of inner reading voices, asking themselves, “What type of voice do I want my students to hear?”; “How do I want my readers to hear me?” While these kinds of inquiries would be useful in the author’s specialization of First-Year Writing, such investigation could prove worthwhile across the curriculum.

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Clavijo, N. (2020). Reflecting upon vulnerable and dependent bodies during the COVID‐19 crisis. Gender, Work and Organization, 27(5), 700–704. doi:10.1111/gwao.12460 PMID:32837002 Clinnin, K. (2020). And so I respond: The emotional labor of writing program administrators in crisis response. In C. A. Wooten, J. Babb, K. M. Costello, & K. Navickas (Eds.), The things we carry: Strategies for recognizing and negotiating emotional labor in writing program administration (pp. 129–144). Utah State University Press. doi:10.7330/9781646420001.c007 Coffey, A. (2001). Education and social change. Open University Press. Corbera, E., Anguelovski, I., Honey-Rosés, J., & Ruiz-Mallén, I. (2020). Academia in the Time of COVID-19: Towards an Ethics of Care. Planning Theory & Practice, 21(2), 191–199. doi:10.1080/14 649357.2020.1757891

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Cuban, L. (1992). Managing dilemmas while building professional communities. Educational Researcher, 21, 4–11. Edling, S., & Frelin, A. (2016). Sensing as an ethical dimension of teacher professionality. Journal of Moral Education, 45(1), 46–58. doi:10.1080/03057240.2015.1127801 Elbow, P. (1983). Embracing contraries in the teaching process. College English, 45(4), 327–339. doi:10.2307/376541 Elbow, P. (1994). What do we mean when we talk about voice in texts? In K. B. Yancey (Ed.), Voices on voice: Perspectives, definitions, inquiry (pp. 1–35). National Council of Teachers of English. Evans, N. J. (2020). Addressing the emotional needs of students in the classroom during crisis. About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience, 25(3), 11–14. doi:10.1177/1086482220939082 Flynn, E., Sotirin, P., & Brady, A. (2012). Feminist rhetorical resilience—Possibilities and impossibilities. In E. Flynn, P. Sotirin, & A. Brady (Eds.), Feminist Rhetorical Resilience (pp. 1–29). University Press of Colorado., doi:10.2307/j.ctt4cgpws.3 Frisby, B. N., & Martin, M. M. (2010). Instructor–student and student–student rapport in the classroom. Communication Education, 59(2), 146–164. doi:10.1080/03634520903564362 Glenn, C. (2009). The Harbrace guide to writing. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Gluchmanová, M. (2015). The importance of ethics in the teaching profession. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 509–513. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.504 Goodwin, A. L., Roegman, R., & Reagan, E. M. (2016). Is experience the best teacher? Extensive clinical practice and mentor teachers’ perspectives on effective teaching. Urban Education, 51(10), 1198–1225. doi:10.1177/0042085915618720 Graham, S. (2018). A revised writer(s)-within-community model of writing. Educational Psychologist, 53(4), 258–279. doi:10.1080/00461520.2018.1481406 Gregory, M. (2001). Curriculum, pedagogy, and teacherly ethos. Pedagogy, 1(1), 69–89. doi:10.1215/15314200-1-1-69 Hagenauer, G., & Volet, S. E. (2014). Teacher–student relationship at university: An important yet under-researched field. Oxford Review of Education, 40(3), 370–388. doi:10.1080/03054985.2014.92 1613 PMID:27226693 Copyright © 2021. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Harkin, P. (1989). Bringing lore to light. PRE/TEXT, 10, 55-67. Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. R. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: Students’ perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319–330. doi:10.100711218-011-9152-4 Harris, J. (1989). The idea of community in the study of writing. College Composition and Communication, 40(1), 11–22. doi:10.2307/358177 Hawk, T. F. (2017). Getting to know your students and an educational ethic of care. Journal of Management Education, 41(5), 669–686. doi:10.1177/1052562917716488

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Hobbs, T. D., & Hawkins, L. (2020, June 5). The results are in for remote learning: It didn’t work. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-coronavirus-remote-learning-lockdown-tech11591375078?mod=searchresults&page=4&pos=12 Information Resources Management Association. (2018). Online course management: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. IGI Global. Jasinski, J. (2001). Sourcebook on rhetoric. Sage (Atlanta, Ga.). Jones, E. (2020). Care remains “essential” in education today. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 91(6), 8–9. doi:10.1080/07303084.2020.1770520 Katzko, M. W. (2002). The construction of social constructionism: A case study in the rhetoric of debate. Theory & Psychology, 12(5), 671–683. doi:10.1177/0959354302012005898 Killingsworth, M. J. (2005). Appeals in modern rhetoric. Southern Illinois University Press. Klonoski, R., & Combs, R. (2009). Web conferencing as classroom: A new opportunity in distance learning. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 2(3), 47–52. doi:10.19030/cier.v2i3.1086 LeFevre, K. B. (1987). Invention as a social act. Southern Illinois University Press. Major, C. (2020). Innovations in teaching and learning during a time of crisis. Innovative Higher Education, 45(4), 265–266. doi:10.100710755-020-09514-w PMID:32836726 Mauk, J., & Metz, J. (2016). Inventing arguments. Cengage. McBee, R. H. (2007). What it means to care: How educators conceptualize and actualize caring. Action in Teacher Education, 29(3), 33–42. doi:10.1080/01626620.2007.10463458 McDermott, K. (2019). The writer as teacher: Reflections from the margins. English in Education, 53(1), 91–105. doi:10.1080/04250494.2018.1559696 Miller, H. (2020). We stood strong and unflinching in this crisis. TES: Times Educational Supplement, 5414, 20–21. Montrieux, H., Raes, A., & Schellens, T. (2017). “The best app is the teacher”: Introducing classroom scripts in technology-enhanced education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33(3), 267–281. doi:10.1111/jcal.12177

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Moore, D. T. (2013, November 22). For interns, experience isn’t always the best teacher. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 60(12), A28–A30. Moscon, K., & Thompson, T. (2013). Makes the best teachers. Techniques - American Vocational Association, 88(4), 16–20. Murphy, J. F., Weil, M., Hallinger, P., & Mitman, A. (1982, December). Academic press: Translating high expectations into school policies and classroom practices. Educational Leadership, 14(1), 22–26. http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198212_murphy.pdf Nguyen, H. T. (2007). Rapport building in language instruction: A microanalysis of the multiple resources in teacher talk. Language and Education, 21(4), 284–303. doi:10.2167/le658.0

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Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics & moral education. University of California Press. Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Orgera, K., Cox, C., Garfield, R., Hamel, L., Munana, C., & Chidambaram, P. (2020, Aug. 21). The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use. Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-formental-health-and-substance-use/ Peary, A. (2014). The hidden ethos inside process pedagogy. Pedagogy, 14(2), 289–315. https://www. muse.jhu.edu/article/542466. doi:10.1215/15314200-2400512 Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. Handbook of Research on Student Engagement, 365-386. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_17 Ready, D. D., & Chu, E. M. (2015). Sociodemographic inequality in early literacy development: The role of teacher perceptual accuracy. Early Education and Development, 26(7), 970–987. doi:10.1080/1 0409289.2015.1004516 Reynolds, N. (1993, Spring). Ethos as location: New sites for understanding discursive authority. Rhetoric Review, 11(2), 325–338. doi:10.1080/07350199309389009 Ringler, I., Schubert, C., & Deem, J. (2015, April-June). Improving the asynchronous online learning environment using discussion boards. Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 15–27. Ronald, K. (1990). A reexamination of personal and public discourse in classical rhetoric. Rhetoric Review, 9(1), 36–48. doi:10.1080/07350199009388911 Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: Teacher expectation and pupils’ intellectual development. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. doi:10.1007/BF02322211 Royster, J. J., & Kirsch, G. A. (2012). Feminist rhetorical practices: New horizons for rhetoric, composition, and literacy studies. Southern Illinois University Press. Salvo, S. G., Shelton, K., & Welch, B. (2019, March). African American males learning online: Promoting academic achievement in higher education. Online Learning, 23(1), 22–36. doi:10.24059/olj.v23i1.1390

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Sánchez, C. A. G., González, B. S. G. D., & Martínez, C. D. J. L. (2013). The impact of teacher-student relationships on EFL learning. HOW, A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English, 20(1), 116-129. https://www.howjournalcolombia.org/index.php/how/article/view/26 Searing, L. (2020, Sept. 6). During pandemic, growth of U.S. adults with mental health issues jumps to 53 percent. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-worry-stress-mentalhealth/2020/09/04/609c0dc2-ee03-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html Sumsion, J. (2000). Caring and empowerment: A teacher educator’s reflection on an ethical dilemma. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(2), 167–179. doi:10.1080/135625100114821

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Tarlow, B. (1996). Caring: A negotiated process that varies. In S. Gordon, P. Benner, & N. Noddings (Eds.), Caregiving: Readings in knowledge, practice, ethics, and politics (pp. 56–82). University of Pennsylvania. Thomson, E., Auhl, G., & Uys, P. (2019). Towards best practice in course design: A case study of flexibility and collaboration between users and developers in supporting process with technology. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 16(1). Vilhauer, R. P. (2017). Characteristics of inner reading voices. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 58(4), 269–274. doi:10.1111jop.12368 PMID:28582587 Wang, S., Rubie-Davies, C. M., & Meissel, K. (2019). Instructional practices and classroom interactions of high and low expectation teachers in China. Social Psychology of Education, 22(4), 841–866. doi:10.100711218-019-09507-4 Webb, N. G., & Barrett, L. O. (2014). Student views of instructor-student rapport in the college classroom. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(2), 15–28. doi:10.14434/josotl.v14i2.4259 Wenger, C. (2015). Yoga Minds, Writing Bodies : Contemplative. Writing & Pedagogy. Wentzel, K. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 411–419. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.411 Willard-Traub, M. (2018). Writing programs and a new ethos for globalization. In S. Rose & I. Weiser (Eds.), The Internationalization of U.S. Writing Programs (pp. 44–59). University Press of Colorado. doi:10.2307/j.ctt22h6qmq.5 Wommack, A. (2017). Teaching is accommodation: Universally designing composition classrooms and syllabi. College Composition and Communication, 68(3), 494–525. Woolley, M. E., Strutchens, M., Gilbert, M. C., & Martin, W. G. (2010). Mathematics success of black middle school students: Direct and indirect effects of teacher expectations and reform practices. Negro Educational Review, 61, 41–124.

ADDITIONAL READING

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Hyland, K. (2019). Second language writing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108635547 Johnstone, B., & Eisenhart, C. (2008). Rhetoric in detail: Discourse analyses of rhetorical talk and text. John Benjamins. doi:10.1075/dapsac.31 Linder, K. E., & Hayes, C. M. (2018). High-impact practices in online education: Research and best practices. Stylus (Rio de Janeiro). Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2016). Second language research. Routledge.

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Perrone-Bertolotti, M., Rapin, L., Lachaux, J. P., Baciu, M., & Loevenbruck, H. (2014). What is that little voice inside my head? Inner speech phenomenology, its role in cognitive performance, and its relation to self-monitoring. Behavioural Brain Research, 261, 220–239. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.12.034 PMID:24412278 Porovecchio, M. J., & Condit, C. M. (2016). Contemporary rhetorical theory (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press. Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association. (2015). Beyond the frontier: Innovations in first-year composition (J. Dahlman & P. Selden, Eds.). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Rudestam, K. E., & Schohenholtz-Reed, J. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of online learning (2nd ed.). SAGE. Ryan, K. J., Myers, N., & Jones, R. (Eds.). (2016). Rethinking ethos: A feminist ecological approach to rhetoric. Southern Illinois University Press.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Ethic of Care: Feminist philosophical perspective that uses a relational and context-bound approach toward decision making. First-Year Writing (FYW): A program of study that helps incoming students build on their skills and abilities to develop fundamental writing skills necessary in their university studies and in the wider world. Learning Management System (LMS): A software application for the administration of educational courses, including communicating with students, collecting assignments, and distributing course-related materials. Remote Learning: Educational activities that have a variety of formats and methods, most of which take place online. Rhetorical Situation: The issue, problem, or occurrence that causes or prompts a person to write or speak. Second Language Writing: A program of study for students who write in a second or non-dominant language for academic, personal, or professional purposes. Strategic Contemplation: Intentional decision-making; the time and space for reflection and contemplation, which allows the administrator, instructor, or researcher to gain perspective from both close and distant considerations of a particular rhetorical situation.

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ENDNOTE

1

The university’s seven modes of instruction that are available to first-year students are: Online, Distance Learning, Hybrid/Blended, Hybrid/Blended Reduced Seat Time, Split, In-Person, and Service Learning. An eighth mode, By Arrangement, is an option for clinical placements, field placements, independent study, internships, and research hours, so it is not available to first-year students.

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Chapter 12

Writing in Times of Crisis: A Theoretical Model for Understanding Genre Formation Amir Kalan McGill University, Canada

ABSTRACT This chapter focuses on a memoir and a flm that narrate the experiences of Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani in an Australian refugee camp in Papua New Guinea in order to show how genres organically develop out of human engagement with social and historical circumstances. The author discusses the novel and the flm as examples of how writers’ interactions with the world impose rhetorical orientations and nurture genre formation. This chapter illustrates that, as opposed to the dominant view of rhetoric as a means of persuasion, the essence of rhetoric and genre formation is engagement with what the author calls “phenomenological autoethnography.” The author argues that studying writing in times of crisis makes the phenomenological and autoethnographic foundations of writing visible because in crises rhetoric is unapologetically used to resist injustice and build resistance through “poetic realism,” which consists of fuid genre practices that can help capture the complexities of human experience.

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INTRODUCTION I fled Iran because of journalism and cultural activities. I travelled to Australia by boat but never arrived. I was exiled [by the Australian government] to Manus Island alongside one thousand other people. This is my story: A man who left his country because he didn’t want to live in prison. A man who sought asylum but ended up in a prison for 6 years. My story is the same as 2000 other innocent people. (Boochani, 2019,1:00) These are the words of Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani, whose writing and artistic work created and circulated by a smuggled cell phone, brought the world’s attention to the traumatic experiences of large groups of asylum seekers in a refugee camp in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. In this chapter, I exDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch012

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 Writing in Times of Crisis

plore some of Boochani’s rhetorical and genre practices to conceptualize an alternative theoretical model that can allow us to revisit some dominant understandings of rhetorical function and genre formation. Rhetoric is usually treated as “formulation of language for readers” (Rivkin & Ryan, 2017, p. 127), especially through borrowing and arranging more established traditional patterns of communication for effective persuasion (Corbett, 1990; McQuail, 1987; Rapp, 2002). In this dominant view of rhetoric, following rhetorical traditions, attention to audience, and desire for persuasion outweigh interest in the social, political, and power relational factors that impact the formation of rhetorical patterns and shape genres. From this perspective, rhetoric is calculated and crafted by writers, who are assumed to have a significant amount of control over constructing rhetorical structures. In contrast with this dominant view, there are alternative research and theoretical trends in writing studies which highlight how the contextual layers of writing have a determining impact on rhetorical arrangements and textual genres beyond communicators’ power, control, or sometimes consciousness. Scholars, for instance, have written about the role of gender in writing (Alexander & Gibson, 2004; Jarratt, 2001), imagining individual and public identities through rhetoric (Browne, 2012), employing literacy as a form of activism (Simon & Campano, 2013), rhetoric as imagined construction for giving voice (Grumet, 1990), the connection between economics and written genres (Freedman & Smart, 1997), and the relation between technology and writing (Warschauer, 2007). Another possible way to examine how and to what extent sociocultural, political, historical, and technological contexts determine rhetorical and genre practices is focusing on sample texts created in times of crisis. In a crisis, rhetorical flexibility is not considered an experimental act, but a necessity for responding to unexpected or undesired circumstances. Creating and disseminating text through a crisis period would require separation from rhetorical and dissemination traditions and thus can reveal how societal, power relational, and technological circumstances create genres. In this chapter, I focus on two works that narrate Boochani’ experiences in Australia’s notorious refugee camp Manus Regional Processing Centre in order to illustrate how genres organically develop out of human engagement with social and historical circumstances: (1) No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, a memoir which Boochani wrote on WhatsApp and (2) Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time, a film which he co-directed on smuggled smartphones. The book details Boochani’s journey from Indonesia to Australia in the hope of refuge in fear of the Iranian government’s threats because of his political activism and journalism, especially as a minoritized Iranian Kurd. The book follows the journey to Manus Island, where Boochani and other asylum seekers were illegally detained by the Australian government for years and experienced torture and death. The film also is a visual account of everyday experiences and struggles of the refugees on Manus. I will discuss Boochani’s writing and art as representative of a large body of refugee literature (Bakara, 2020; Gallien, 2018; Schiltz et al., 2019) that captures the traumas of millions of exiled, displaced, and dislocated migrants, especially in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of xenophobia in the West. Discussing the rhetorical nature of Boochani’s book and film, I will show how writers’ and communicators’ interactions with the world impose rhetorical orientations and nurture genre formation. Specifically, I will illustrate that, as opposed to the dominant view of rhetoric as “rethorike techne” (Troye Nordkvelle, 2003, p. 321) or the technique of persuasion (Cockcroft & Cockcroft, 2013; Fahnestock, 2011; Lunsford et al., 2004; Ramage et al., 2018), the essence of rhetoric construction and genre formation is engagement with phenomenological autoethnography. In phenomenological writing, we do not persuade audiences to embrace our arguments; instead, we use writing to make sense of phenomena and invite our readers (Bone, Griffin, & Scholz, 2008) to participate in the process of epistemological 215

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 Writing in Times of Crisis

reaction to phenomena. In autoethnographic writing, there is less obsession about objectivity, as is the case with positivist inquiry (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947/1972), and more interest in clarification of positionality (Bourke, 2014) when and where humans engage with reality and re-construct it according to their perspectives. Accordingly, in what follows, I will discuss what phenomenological autoethnography is by drawing on rhetorical features used in Boochani’s Manus Prison and Chauka (the shortened titles that will be used in the rest of the chapter for, respectively, his novel and his film). First, I will highlight the four features that make every writing process phenomenological: the phenomenon, communication medium, intellectual network, and creative genre formation. Second, I will define the autoethnographic in “phenomenological autoethnography” as the following: positionality, the socio-political context, social action, and a commitment to expression (see Figure 1). Finally, I will conclude that studying writing in times of crisis, as exemplified by Boochani’s work, shows that social, cultural, political, and human circumstances surrounding textual creation will add layers to written texts that if highlighted, can help us: (1) move from prescribed rhetoric to flexible rhetoric construction; (2) regard writers as active participants in the process of genre formation; and (3) shift from objective analysis to an epistemological mentality that I will frame as poetic realism (see Figure 2). Figure 1. Facets of Phenomenological Autoethnography

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PHENOMENOLOGICAL AUTOETHNOGRAPHY Phenomenology and autoethnography are often used as qualitative inquiry approaches and research writing genres. Phenomenological research is based on the rejection of the belief that “objects in the external world exist independently and that the information about objects is reliable … . [Humans, instead, understand the world by] how things appear in, or present themselves to their consciousness” (Groenewald, 2004, p. 43). In other words, the truth about the world is in fact the immediate human experience of phenomena. Autoethnography is “an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze (graphy) personal experience (auto) in order to understand cultural

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experience (ethno)” (Ellis et al., 2011, p. 273). In both approaches human experience is the principle means of understanding the world. This emphasis on the centrality of human experience “questions the assumptions of the sciences” (Aspers, 2009, p. 2) and the scientific method and it claims to objectivity (Feyerabend, 1975). Drawing on these conceptualizations, in this chapter, I use the term phenomenological autoethnography as a theoretical lens that can help make cultural, socio-political, and power relational foundations of rhetoric visible by highlighting the writer’s experiences and perceptions of the world in his or her historical context. It is important to reflect on these dimensions of writing in order to make sense of rhetoric as a product of society, power, and human experience as well as linguistic craftsmanship. In a sense, all writing is phenomenological and autoethnographic, yet the weight of non-stylistic dimensions of writing in the process of the formation of rhetoric and genres varies from one writing event to another. In more rhetorically controlled and tradition-oriented writing, such as most school and college writing tasks, the composition process is often more prescribed and monitored by strict rubrics, thus revealing less of the impact of meta-textual layers such as socio-political contexts of writing. In fact, most institutionalized writing intentionally disables personal, political, and power relational influences by inserting more rhetorical control in the name of rigour and objectivity. Meta-rhetorical dimensions of writing, however, are more visible in other forms of writing such as narrative inquiry, memoirs, poetry, and as is the case in this chapter: writing in a period of crisis. By focusing on Boochani’s writing, created amidst his traumatic experiences as an asylum seeker, it will be easier to illustrate the phenomenological and autoethnographic nature of writing because of the significance of non-technical aspects of his work. In what follows, I will describe what “the phenomenological” and “the autoethnographic” in the term “phenomenological autoethnography” mean and illustrate the theories by examples from Boochani’s work.

THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL

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Phenomenon Studying writing in a crisis reminds us that effective writing is always, although to varying degrees, “phenomenological” (for a historical development of the term, see Heidegger, 1927/2010; Husserl 1900–1901/2012; Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1996), meaning all writing attempts to describe “phenomena” as experienced first-hand by a human subject. We, with our activities and beings, are always in the world and we can never step outside the world to experience it objectively (Heidegger, 1927, 2010). Thus, our understanding of the world is always informed by our subjective experience of phenomena in the world. In phenomenological writing, accordingly, recording first-hand experiences and perceptions of phenomena outweighs theorization, argumentation, or persuasion. In other words, phenomenological writing shifts its attention from capturing or presenting the “truth” about phenomena to experiencing phenomena or things: What, in truth, is a thing insofar as it is a thing? When we ask this question we wish to know the thingbeing (the thingliness) of the thing. The point is to learn the thingliness of the thing. To this end we must become acquainted with the sphere within which are to be found all those beings which we have long called things. (Heidegger, 1950/2002, p. 4)

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 Writing in Times of Crisis

This shift of emphasis from “persuading an audience” to “a thing’s being” is significant. As rhetorical traditions establish, they generate rules whose protection and regulation requires dynamics that divert attention from the phenomenon discussed in writing to how to “effectively” present to a targeted audience. Although in more serious literary and academic writing, the attention to the form of presentation is often at the service of better description of the phenomenon, the typical fixation on received rhetorical traditions erodes the importance of the phenomenon. Phenomenological writing puts the phenomenon back in centre stage by focusing on “the very nature of a phenomenon, for that which makes a “thing” what it is” (Van Manen, 1984, p. 38), severed from any unwanted, extra, or imposed intervention that can change the “essence” (Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1995, p. vii) of the phenomenon. The popularity of Boochani’s Manus Prison, in an increasingly difficult book market, highlights the significance and impact of using writing as a means of making sense of phenomena, a tool of inquiry rather than a medium for presentation or entertainment. The phenomenon in Boochani’s book is the circumstances and traumas experienced first-hand by contemporary refugees and displaced populations. Most current official writing practices, at least in English speaking countries, are either the result of institutional requirements (such as papers, theses, grants, proposals, and so on) that privilege certain rhetorical models or are funded by an organization with particular rhetorical preferences (as is the case with most academic papers, non-fiction books, and journalistic articles). Most creative writing, in the same manner, is heavily associated with certain movements, literary cults, and aesthetics. Boochani’s writing (and his film in the same fashion) revives the connection between textual creation and experiencing phenomena beyond institutional and monetary dictates and restrictions. The attention that Boochani’s work has received (exemplified by numerous reviews in major international newspapers) is evidence that the public values Boochani’s organic and unguided engagement with and focus on the subject of his wring: the trauma of the contemporary human. Unlike the methods of the popular media, Boochani does not report news about refugees. He does not use language to categorize, theorize, or even provoke by, for instance, speaking about refugees in numbers; he, instead, pauses and “look[s] into the devasted faces” (Boochani, 2018/2019, p. 69) and uses writing as part of this experience as opposed to employing writing as a technology to objectively record the experience. Boochani employs stylistic strategies that indicate his deep intellectual and emotional commitment to comprehending the phenomenon that he has encountered, the trauma of being treated as a “criminal” in the process of seeking asylum. Employing writing as an integral part of his experience, rather than what comes after it with a distance, is manifest in his reflective tone. In Manus Prison and Chauka, his pen and camera are anxious to make sense of concrete details that lie under the abstract idea of migration and displacement. In the opening chapters of Manus Prison, Boochani describes his and his fellow asylum seekers’ departure from Indonesia in a human smuggler’s boat, in the hope of making it to Australia in search of asylum. When they arrive in Australia, however, they are illegally detained in a “processing” centre on Manus Island for years, where they face torture, imprisonment, and death. In the following passage, he describes how the refugees are crammed into the little space available on the boat: There is a defending commotion in the bridge. A conflict between frenzied men vying for a place to sit has reached fever pitch. … The younger men have all found places to sit …. They have occupied all the floor space of the sleeping quarters and the families are now forced into the end of the boat. … In the midst of the fracas, as the women and children try to settle into their hard and uncomfortable positions, the boat takes off. (Boochani, 2018/2019, p. 14)

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This account of the event with a linear storyline, nevertheless, does not satisfy Boochani’s sense of inquiry. He returns to the scene, to the phenomenon, with an unsatisfied appetite for deeper reflection, for revisiting the phenomenon from a different angle. This is a technique that recurs all through Boochani’s narrative and enables him to move beyond reporting, theorizing, dramatizing, and even sympathizing in order to better comprehend the phenomenon. Revisiting the scene, provides time and space for digesting details and a fresh look. Here again he looks at the same people in the boat, at a later time, to learn more about the nature of the occasion: I leave the bridge and spend some time wondering through the motionless bodies, from one end of the boat to the other. It’s a mess. Bodies are twisted into one another. Even the normal physical boundaries between families have fallen apart. Men lie in the arms of another’s wife, children lie on the chests and bellies of strangers. It seems they have all forgotten the shouts and insults of earlier, and all that energy spent establishing genre-based order. (Boochani, 2018/2019, p. 16) This time the mass of bodies, in shapeless connections in a quieter boat, shows another side of the phenomenon, contributing to Boochani’s direct experience of it as a multifaceted totality that does not cease to provide more complexity if reflectively examined. Manus Prison is a prose narrative interwoven with poetry. This hybrid genre is another manifestation of Boochani’s phenomenological stance. The poetic sections often do not add new factual information, nor do they push the story forward by adding new cycles of action. They, indeed, explore deeper levels of the phenomena that Boochani has been writing about in prose. Poetry helps reveal aspects of the phenomena that the prose fails to capture. In this passage, Boochani yet again re-focuses on the bodies lying in the boat; this time, however, through poetry, as if possibilities for re-investigating the scene are not exhausted yet: This is a sleep that transcends ordinary sleep/ It induces unconsciousness/ Pale faces/

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Drooling from the mouth. (Boochani, 2018/2019, p. 16) In Chauka, Boochani’s smartphone documentary, he shows the same interest in things’ meanings that can be revealed upon reflection in direct meditative engagement. In the film, Boochani and his codirector employ uncut continuous shots that meditatively focus on everyday experiences in the refugee camp. One of the characters, Kaveh is one of the detainees in Manus Centre whose life we learn about through a number of long telephone conversations with his family members. At different points of the film, Kaveh appears in medium shots talking into a manual telephone in a phone room shared by other detainees. In these recurring shots of uninterrupted minutes of Kaveh’s private conversations with his family, his devastation and mental collapse, as a Manus resident, are only gradually shared with the film viewers as Kaveh navigates his tone and messaging in his communication with his family, who cannot even start to imagine the measure Kaveh’s life has been reduced to. The viewers, thus, learn about Kaveh’s

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experiences through a contemplative camera which is interested in the totality of Kaveh’s experience as opposed to a breaking-news-like interview statement. In the same manner, the directors of Chauka are interested in any detail that can manifest more aspects of prisoners’ lives. For instance, there are long takes of the Papuan children, the indigenous inhabitants of Manus, looking into the centre through the metal prison fence as if their reaction to what they see in prison can tell us something about the refugees’ pain. We also see frequent shots of a cat trapped under a gut in the prison environment, a poetic repetition of the vulnerability of the incarcerated young men who we learn about in the course of the film. Boochani’s phenomenological stance in his writing and film help him move beyond judgment, argumentation, or assertion. In Manus Prison, for instance, he hardly judges his characters or comments on their experiences; instead, he tries to understand them by experiencing “entities of various regions of [their] being” (Schear, 2007, p. 3). Asylum seekers, smugglers, and even prison officers (as occasionally pictured in the book and film) are all trapped in socio-political circumstances which Boochani attempts to comprehend through the media at his disposal rather than report as news coverage.

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Technology and Medium We can learn from studying writing in times of crisis that prioritizing the phenomenon over rhetoric leads to flexibility in experimenting with text generation technology, the presentation medium, and dissemination channels. When writing in a crisis, one’s access to technology is limited. Traditional mediums of textual creation and presentation might not be present. This limitation, ironically, can allow more flexibility in experimentation with new technology and media in order to urgently record experiences such as human trauma, loss, or tragedy. In a crisis, away from gate-keeping editors and profit-oriented publishing dynamics (Hojat et al., 2003; Powell, 2010), following established traditions of text creation and presentation is hardly a priority. In the face of a crisis, what matters most is recording the experience of the phenomenon with whatever medium available. Writers in times of crisis do not write with the prospect of peer review or expert aesthetic judgment. They may not even think of an audience, which is overwhelmingly advised in traditional Western rhetoric (Park, 1982). What they focus on is capturing a moment that cannot be replicated and an experience that cannot be simulated. Especially, when “writing is an act of resistance” (Boochani, 2019, 3:50) against inhuman treatment, engagement with any technological and media possibilities that can allow one to capture an ongoing tragedy will be a legitimate endeavour in the process of writing and text creation. On his way to, and on Manus Island, Boochani did not have the luxury of using writing artefacts such as pens, paper, or laptops. When he was on a refugee ship, without enough space for a normal night’s sleep, it was impossible for him to record his experiences on paper or a computer. In the centre in Papua New Guinea, and under close surveillance of the Australian government, recording the ongoing physical and psychological torture on paper to mail to a newspaper or publishing house was also out of the question. All the mail was checked in the Centre’s mailroom by border officers, as recorded in Boochani’s Chauka. The detainees, in addition, were not allowed to have personal cell phones let alone laptops or typewriters. In order to write the phenomenon, Boochani had a smartphone smuggled into the Centre, which would determine the medium and manner of his textual creation, WhatsApp fiction and smartphone filming:

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I smuggled a phone into the prison by exchanging my clothes, shoes, and cigarettes with a local man who was working inside the prison. … the guards would sometimes attack our rooms, looking for phones. Twice they found my phone and took it, and I had to smuggle another phone. (Boochani, 2019, 2:50) There is a growing body of research focusing on digital and smartphone writing and smartphone film production (Allagui, 2014; Berry, 2017; Fortunati & Vincent, 2014; Grabill & Hicks, 2005; Merchant, 2007; Waters & Russell, 2017). Educators, artists, and policy makers are still navigating the potentials of digital text production as a viable alternative to traditional writing technology and media. Contributing to this research trend, a phenomenological conceptualization of Boochani’s digitally produced texts can highlight the fact that digital textuality should not be regarded as a replacement but an expansion of textual, intellectual, and artistic possibilities. Studying writing in a crisis, and the media creativity that it often involves, can show that human experiences and circumstances are complex and thus require technological diversity. Putting the phenomenon in the centre of the writing process requires technological and media exploration for maximizing comprehension of the phenomenon. Boochani wrote his book on the free messaging app WhatsApp in Persian and sent it, text by text, to his translator, Omid Tofighian, in Australia. In the same manner, he worked remotely with the Iranian director Sarvestani to create Chauka with a smuggled smartphone. For every paragraph and shot to be finalized, many WhatsApp voice messages were exchanged on slow and unstable internet connections. Without exploration of these alterative possibilities, Manus prisoners might be forgotten forever.

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Collective Perception Through Intellectual and Circulation Networks Intellectual collaboration in writing has been discussed in different research trends. There is a body of literature on collaborative writing in educational settings (see for instance: Howard, 2001; Storch, 2005). Writing communities have been studied as examples of intellectual networks (Graham, 2018; Kalan et al., 2019). Scholars focusing on community literacy and community publishing (Flower, 2008; Mathieu et al., 2012) have also reflected on the collective power of communities to mobilize writing as a means of creating societal change and of impacting the balance of power relations in society. When focusing on the phenomenological in “phenomenological autoethnography,” intellectual collaboration can be understood in terms of social epistemology (Goldman & Whitcomb, 2011) and collective experience of phenomena. Reconnecting with philosophical phenomenology, as the conceptual lens for this chapter, we can draw upon Husserl’s notions of “communal consciousness,” “unity of a supra-personal consciousness,” or “unity of a communal consciousness” (Szanto, 2016, p. 165) to make sense of collective perception of texts created in a crisis, facilitated by dissemination networks. Although the terms social consciousness and collective phenomenology are still debated in philosophy (Chelstrom, 2013), in our particular case, Boochani’s works and experiences, these concepts can highlight the significance of the readership and its role in the process of text-generation and dissemination in a collective reaction to human trauma and tragedy. The attention that Boochani’s work has received wouldn’t have occurred without the intellectual network of like-minded individuals that Boochani carefully created around his texts, written or visual. As was previously mentioned, Manus Prison and Chauka were created with the direct collaboration of Tofighian, as the translator of the book, and Sarvestani, as the co-director of the film. It is not difficult to evaluate the epistemological impact of these two individuals on the representation of the difficulties 221

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that Boochani and his fellow refugees faced in the process of seeking asylum. They both felt they needed to be involved in the crisis through some kind of engagement in order to both understand the tragedy and speak about it. Tofighian, with no background in professional translation, joined this project through personal interest - as a researcher - in the lives of people who have experienced displacement and exile. He, thus, engaged with the translation as a means of knowing and learning: “The translation process was a profound learning experience which helped us develop analyses pertaining to the incarceration of refugees on Manus Island, and many related issues” (Boochani, 2019, p. 364). Similarly, for Sarvestani, the film was only a second concern after the phenomenon itself; an excuse to better understand the crisis: As I read more about Australia’s border industry and the plight of asylum seekers, I realized that there is a systematic crime occurring in Australia quietly. I thought it didn’t matter what but I had to make a film about this. Anything with a prisoner’s camera inside the centre. (Kamali Sarvestani, 2017, 5:45) Beyond this core circle of co-creators, Boochani, in the same manner, created a network of likeminded journalists, writers, and intellectuals around the texts which he produced. All the members of this network also contributed to the collective comprehension and interpretation of the phenomenon by adding their voices to the narratives that retold Boochani’s and his friends’ stories. Boochani also reached out to social workers and human rights activists in organizations such as the Refugee Action Collective and PEN International. The artistic and intellectual circle that Boochani created, thus, played a double role. First, as explained, it developed a collective experience of the phenomenon. Second, it facilitated the dissemination and hence the reception of the story by the larger public, who in turn would contribute to a societal hermeneutics that generated collective readings of Boochani’s work. Studying writing in times of crisis teaches us how important distribution networks are in the process of making sense of textual products. When we discuss genres like academic writing, for instance at school or university, we do highlight the importance of the audience. However, the audience is typically seen as the consumer of the message rather than the co-creator of meaning. Regarding writing as a phenomenological practice can make this hermeneutic co-creation visible.

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Rhetoric Construction and Genre Formation In phenomenological writing, rhetorical means are not employed based on traditional patterns that are believed to effectively facilitate argumentation or the conversion of the listener, which is the overshadowing legacy of Aristotelian rhetoric on Western understanding of oral, and now written, text production. From a phenomenological perspective, rhetoric and genre emerge from interactions with the phenomenon. “Aristotle defines the rhetorician as someone who is always able to see what is persuasive (Topics VI.12, 149b25). Correspondingly, rhetoric is defined as the ability to see what is possibly persuasive in every given case (Rhet. I.2, 1355b26f.)” (Rapp, 2010, para. 10). Aristotle, is his Rhetoric, embarks on defining the techniques that enable rhetoricians (whether honest or dishonest) to convert to one’s point of view (whether or not it is of value). Aristotle’s views about rhetoric are mainly a response to his observations of public speeches delivered in Greek juries and assemblies of the time, far from today’s academic and aesthetic concerns; however, the same views have been applied to different forms of writing in the West for millennia and have oddly dominated contemporary Anglo-American school and university writing.

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Although the contexts bear no resemblance, we still teach that “everything’s an argument” (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz & Walters, 2004) and provide pre-constructed persuasive genres for students to model. In contrast with the Aristotelian paradigm, when the phenomenon takes centre stage, rhetoric is mobilized mainly at the service of describing the experience of the phenomenon. Studying writing in a crisis shows us that fixed formulations of genre fail to do justice when it comes to capturing perceptions of phenomena because in a crisis it is much easier to see the everchanging nature of phenomena and their unpredictability. Crisis magnifies our ignorance about phenomena and dictates a humble view of writing as a means of learning about the world and leaves little space for the aggression of argumentation and assertion. Although true for most writing processes, in the face of trauma and tragedy, it is more visible that rhetoric and genre cannot impose themselves on a writing event but should flexibly modify in order to best reflect experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon. Tofighian, Manus Prison’s translator, holds that Boochani’s work is in a state of “anti-genre” (Tofighian & Boochani, 2019, 15:00) in that it does not fit our ready-made genre categories. The book floats between prose and poetry. Chauka, in the same manner, is a documentary, but one with strong fictional elements such as a vivid story line and artistic concerns for characterization, tone, and atmosphere. The book was intended to be published in English, so the text first came together as an English book. However, the background translation process from Kurdish, Boochani’s mother tongue, to Persian and to English has created a text that feels like an English text but at the same time a translated book. The film’s profound content is in contrast with its formalistic simplicity, resultant from technological limitations. The book is both a memoir and a novel (the media and press usually call the book a “memoir” whereas Boochani himself refers to the work as a “novel”). This all has created a fluidity in Boochani’s genres which has enabled him to capture the phenomenon as closely as possible. This state of being in between genres is an important feature of phenomenological writing, as best observable in writing in times of crisis. Genres, and the rhetorical structures that constitute them, are not fixed entities because they are created to capture and explain phenomena, which are diverse and changeable. Effective writing creates and modifies genres rather than follow pre-established models. Genre categories should not be seen as ultimate and universal frames that rule textual organization, production, and communication but tentative sketches to be creatively fleshed out for best representation of phenomena and our experiences of them. Next to the centrality of the phenomenon, the other two aspects of phenomenological writing that we have discussed so far impact the formation of genres as well: available medium of presentation and the collective perception of the phenomenon. As previously discussed, technological access or limitations will have writers and artists engage with rhetorical experimentation based on available recording devices. Accessible dissemination channels also, to a certain degree, determine rhetorical decisions. In Boochani’s case his novel found its place in mainstream book circulation channels because of the media coverage of his story. On the other hand, however, his smartphone documentary, along with his other artistic projects, was particularly structured to speak to niche artistic, academic, and activist communities.

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THE AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC Positionality

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The concept “positionality” has been extensively explored in qualitative inquiry as a vehicle for making sense of the impact of researcher/writer’s identity, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, power, and position in the world on the process of knowledge creation and research representation (see for instance: Bourke, 2014; Cousin, 2010; Mason-Bish, 2019). Positionality in qualitative research has also been discussed as providing the inquirer with an epistemic privilege (Bar On, 1993; Mohanty, 2018; Vasanthakumar, 2018) because of the epistemological affordances made available to them thanks to their unique place in the world. The significance of positionality as a central component of autoethnography, as a form of qualitative inquiry, has been particularly an important conversation in the development of autoethnographic inquiry and writing. An autoethnographic approach “acknowledges that knowledge is based on one’s location and identities” (Canagarajah, 2012, p. 260). A conversation about “positionality” to describe the autoethnographic character of phenomenological autoethnography can contribute to our discussion about the centrality of the “phenomenon” in the previous section by emphasizing the importance of one’s place in the world in relation with the phenomenon. The intensity and quality of our interactions with the phenomenon are determined by our positionality. Whereas in most everyday writing (ranging from schoolwork to journalism to academic writing), there is an attempt to show distance from the analysis (for instance, in order to reduce “bias”), studying writing in times of crisis shows that not only positionality-less-ness, or a state of non-positioned-ness is almost impossible to achieve, but positionality can indeed be an epistemological advantage. Being positioned in a crisis provides the privilege of being privy to the knowledge that is not accessible to others. Who we are in the world crucially determines our perception of the phenomenon, and thus generates the very substance of our writing about it. Whereas in institutionalized writing, claims to objectivity are made to facilitate persuasion, in autoethnographic writing the idea of debate between two sides is replaced with the writer’s reflection, remembrance, and survival and, on the other hand, the reader’s openness to learn from a unique experience. Boochani’s positionality as a detained asylum seeker willing to tell his story under the heavy scrutiny of the Australian government has led to the creation of texts that not many other humans could ever construct no matter how much they were interested in the subject matter or theoretically knowledgeable about Australia’s border industry. The collaboration between Sarvestani and Boochani in making Chauka was partly the result of Sarvestani’s knowledge of his inability to enter that space of crisis, an epistemological disadvantage imposed by him being positioned outside the crisis: What was going on was no doubt a systematic crime and the situation had to be put on camera. So I started to look for a prisoner with a camera. I came across Boochani’s articles in the Guardian and other newspapers, and I wrote to him on Facebook, ‘I’d like to make a film using your camera. Would you agree?’” (Kamali Sarvestani, 2017, 6:40) Put in the context of our theoretical conversation in this section, Sarvestani’s question of Boochani is a recognition of Boochani’s unique positionality in connection with this ongoing tragedy. Sarvestani is inviting Boochani to share his insider perspective of this phenomenon with him in an artistic collaboration. A rhetoric of crisis, hence, is a suitable context for observing the significance of positionality. 224

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Socio-Political Context

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Positionality can hardly be understood or defined without the sociocultural, political, and historical contexts in which writers are embedded. In a sense, our positionality is determined by our place in societal power structures within a political, historical, an also economic context. In other words, individuals are “conditioned by their positionality in social and geographic space” (Vertova, 2006, p. 51). “Positionality encompasses history … [and] one’s historical position” (Jugmohan et al., 2007, p. 41). So as much as one’s positionality is constructed by individual identities, it is also formed by society, culture, and politics. Next to shaping positionality, socio-political conditions of text generation also impact dissemination, visibility, and perception of written products and artworks. Whereas positionality shapes one’s perception of a phenomenon, the socio-political dynamics determine the amount of attention one’s description of the phenomenon receives and how it is captured and communicated to the larger public according to the way it is believed to influence power relations and ideological battles. The impact of societal and political power relations on the circulation of regulated mainstream writing genres might be difficult to demonstrate because of the dominant ideological attachment to the idea of “impartiality,” believed to be achieved by practices such as objective inquiry, blind peer review, or pure aesthetic judgment. Writing in times of crisis, however, readily reveals all the socio-political dimensions that impact the production, distribution, and reception of text. Boochani’s work came out in the middle of the rise of the far right in the Western political scene, gaining popularity on nationalistic, protectionist, xenophobic, and racist premises and promises. The Australian government of the time was only a piece in a domino wave which would lead to the election of Donald Trump in the United States. This political transformation, along with the economic weakening of the West, as a result of continual wars and also the economic rise of Asia, had put the West in an identity crisis which polarised many countries and created two opposing sides which attempted to define their societies’ “values.” If Black Lives Matter was the moment of the American progressives to seek a voice in determining the character of the United States, in Australia (and New Zealand) the Manus centre was to turn into a symbolic war between the advocates of the two visions of their nations: an open, welcoming, cosmopolitan Australia or a conservative, nationalist, and racialist Australia. Boochani’s work, narrating his experiences in the Manus prison, became a crucial component of this identity battle. Although content with the attention his work brought to the miseries of his fellow asylum seekers, Boochani is aware of the symbolic battle between the said two sides. He acknowledges that one side attempts to “take your identity, take your freedom, and your individuality” (Boochani, 2020, 42:00) and some journalists on the other side “reduce people just to get some sympathy and show refugees as victims” (42:27). In the same interview, Boochani goes as far as saying that the progressive image that New Zealand has projected of itself, to keep ideological distance from Australia, is more symbolic than real: New Zealand has many times offered to take 150 men from Manus or Naru. They put the offer on the table and Australia just refused. … New Zealand has got so much credit internationally [but only] … for an offer, … but New Zealand did nothing. New Zealand got credit for doing nothing. … I think New Zealand should [actually] do something for the people because they already got so much credit. (46:30) Boochani is conscious that the Manus tragedy is rooted in a past that encompasses much more than the current Western identity crisis: “When they exiled me to Manus, it was clear for me from the very beginning, that the whole of this policy was established based off a colonialist mentality, in a very clas225

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sical sense of colonialism” (39:00). The survivors of colonial dynamics are, unfortunately, not always heard or paid attention to. Public visibility, as has been the case with Boochani’s work, happens when the storytellers are positioned in a social context that amplifies their voices. One component of the social context that impacts the public reception of the phenomenon is the technological culture of the time and current media practices. In this sense, the socio-political dimension of “the autobiographical” relates to our conversation about “medium” in “the phenomenological.” Medium and technological cultures are sublayers of broader sociocultural forces within which observers experience and capture the phenomenon. Although creative use of technology and medium is essential, technological culture is only one component of social and political circumstances that impact the circulation of survivors’ recorded experiences of a crisis.

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(Re)action The autoethnographic dimension of writing becomes more visible when writing is not merely used as a tool that records and reports the phenomenon but as a component of the writer’s reaction to the phenomenon. In other words, writing can be viewed and practiced as a form of action in response to a phenomenon, especially in oppressive environments where the very act of writing is a form of resistance (Chun, 2019) and praxis (Kitchin, 2014; Lysaker, 2014; Yagelski, 2012). This shift from regarding writing as technical capturing and accurate reporting to writing as social action is significant. Whereas in the former the judgment of the quality of writing and what it achieves is mainly based on craftsmanship and professionalism (including adhering to established standards), in the latter what qualifies writing as effective is the impact of the act of writing on the occasion, for instance, an ongoing tragedy or crisis. While the former model advocates objective representation of the phenomenon, the latter paradigm is, in addition, concerned with changing it, and, in a crisis, with disrupting the disaster. Moreover, with imagining writing as action, a question of positionality becomes significant again: who is the writer and in what position in relation with the phenomenon has he or she mobilized their writing? How does the writer’s (re)action, in terms of their positionality, impact social networks and the balance of power within the society? In connection with our conversation about collective perception in the Phenomenological section, (re) action often takes on a collective nature, with writing acting as a catalyst for bringing together interested, but perhaps inactive, observers who are witnessing the phenomenon. Effective writers provoke collective reaction to crisis with their writing being at the service of community-building. Chauka in Boochani’s film is the name of a local bird. Australian border officers have appropriated the bird’s name to refer to a detention department within the Manus establishment: “A prison within the prison … there is containers, rooms set up where they punish people … what many people call the torture cell” (Kamali Sarvestani & Boochani, 2017, 01:05:05). Frustrated with the way the name Chauka, as part of the indigenous culture, is used to “abuse people,” a Papua New Guinean elder featuring in the film defines the true meaning of the word, “[Chauka] is not that big a bird. A small bird, like this [as big as a hand palm]. But with a loud voice! It can call from the road and you stay here and listen to it and say, “Oh it’s a Chauka calling there.” (Kamali Sarvestani & Boochani, 2017, 01:01:10). Boochani’s writing and artistic production, as examples of how survivors write and create in a crisis, could be metaphorically interpreted as Chauka’s shrill. His texts are a defiant voice, calling for collective action from a position of vulnerability. Boochani, himself, has repeatedly described his engagement with writing as an act of resistance, reaction to and action against oppression and injustice: 226

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For me writing has always been an act of resistance. … the system that operates this prison aimed to reduce us to numbers, to remove our individuality, and destroy our identity. For me writing and creating is a way of fighting to get my identity, humanity and dignity back in front of a cruel system that is established to take anything that has meaning of life from us. (Boochani, 2019, 03:50) “Writing as resistance is personal; you object, refuse, insist. Writing as resistance is collective; you examine, influence, organize” (Ahonen et al., 2020, p. 459). One important facet of autoethnographic writing is employing textual engagement as a form of action.

Expression Whereas the genre formation discussed in the Phenomenological section is the result of rhetorical, technological, and dissemination possibilities that allow comprehension and representation of a phenomenon, “expression” in the autoethnographic is the textual translation of our reaction to the phenomenon, in our case: crisis. In other words, genre formation and expression are two different aspects of the same engagement: creating a rhetorical structure that best reflects the uncomfortable realities that the writer is experiencing: I wanted to express the tragedy in a literary ambiance. The reason I leaned towards literariness was that I wrote as a journalist for years … and I always wondered … or rather believed that the language of journalism is a language very close to the language of power or the language of the government and governmental propaganda. I needed a language in which I could express myself in a way that would invite the reader into the prison emotionally to see the real life in Manus. (Boochani, 2019, 06:20) Expression, thus, is the culmination of an autoethnographic stance in written, visual, or spoken representation that embraces the writer’s positionality, reflects the socio-political contexts of text-generation, and mobilizes communities to action in response to a human situation. In this sense, expression, as the purpose or outcome of phenomenological autoethnography, is markedly distinguished from persuasion, assertion, or argumentation.

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Prisming Phenomenological Autoethnography A focus on Boochani’s work in this chapter has been as much about understanding writing in times crisis as about illustrating some of the social, political, historical, and technological contexts in which rhetorical patterns and genres take form in general and in all forms of writing. Since we mainly experience writing genres in educational settings and while we write in response to institutional requirements—with genres like academic writing, grant writing, application writing, and so on—it might be difficult to see the aforesaid layers in those forms of writing inasmuch as most of them are rhetorically regulated and formulized. Moreover, most of these institutionalized genres are constructed for everyday professional communication and evaluation (typically for a small audience: a teacher, a reviewer, or a committee) rather than for comprehending phenomena that have direct impact on our lives. Although there is always room for rhetorical creativity and spontaneity, in these official forms of writing, the meta-textual layers of text generation and dissemination are less visible because they are intentionally made less dynamic by heavy regulation, rhetorical prescription, and projection of objectivity. In contrast, texts written in times 227

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of crisis, readily reveal their extra-textual layers. No matter how hard we try to regulate and rubricate rhetoric, all writing occurs within cultural, socio-political, and power relational contexts. All rhetorical constructs and genres are either a response to their societal environment or are somehow impacted by it, although at times slightly. Studying writing in times of crisis provides the opportunity to illustrate extra-textual dimensions of writing, and, perhaps more importantly, to create a blueprint for identifying the same dimensions in traditional, official, and institutional writing. Up to this point, I described the main components of “phenomenological autoethnography,” as the theoretical foundation of such a blueprint, by focusing on “phenomenology” and “autoethnography” separately. In this concluding section, I bring all those facets together to revisit “phenomenological autoethnography” as a whole. In order to do that, I borrow the method prisming from photography to re-define “phenomenological autoethnography” as a conclusion to the chapter. In prisming, you capture a subject’s image with a prism in front of the lens to make the complexities of the light surrounding the subject visible by splitting and polarizing it. Here is how I would prism “phenomenological autoethnography” to highlight its three most important manifestations as the chapter’s finale. Boochani’s work, as an example of writing in a period of crisis, shows that effective writing does not necessarily follow established rhetorical patterns, but creates them by responding to the subject of study and its environment. Analysing Boochani’s book and film as phenomenological autoethnographies can help us see that in organic genre formation, (1) writers move their shift from persuasion, based on prescribed rhetorical patterns, to expression through flexible genre explorations that best rise to the writing occasion, (2) writers are not only at the receiving end of the rhetorical tradition but actively modify and create rhetoric and genre possibilities because they use genres at the service of connecting with phenomena rather than adopt genres with a genre-for-genre’s-sake mentality, and (3) objective inquiry takes a back seat to provide space for a poetic realism that intentionally remains genre-flexible to better capture subjective experience through connotative potentials of the hermeneutic layers of language (Figure 2). Most academic and essay writing in the English language has been obsessed with argumentation, persuasion, and opinion assertion. An unfortunate outcome of this attachment has been attempts to formulate effective persuasion techniques as rules of writing. As an example of these attempts is creation of genres such as the five-paragraph essay (also known as the hamburger model), which is mass produced in Anglo-American educational settings. This, of course, should be noted that, in the margins of official and institutional writing, there is plenty of quality non-fiction, academic writing, and journalistic prose that creatively bends the established rules of rhetoric for better, more beautiful, and more profound expression. These exceptions, however, are proof that most effective writing, whether in a crisis or not, is about expression, as well as or regardless of persuasion. When the role of expression is elevated, strict rhetorical rules soften and open space for genre experimentations that are meant to help the speaker best express understandings rather than beat the addressee in argumentative battles. In such a rhetorical transaction, listening, sympathy, dialogic learning, confirmation, and appreciation are viewed as communication assets rather than a weakness in a competition for conversion. In a communication scene of this nature, a genuine interest in the writer’s direct experiences of the phenomenon provides genre and rhetorical tolerance and prevents stylistic pedanticism. For instance, when learning about traumatic experiences, such as those reflected in Boochani’s work, audiences would appreciate the writer’s epistemic privilege and the rhetorical space and flexibility that the accurate expression of the phenomenon requires. With this mentality, unlike what is usual in a rhetoric of assertion and persuasion, readers, for instance, do not interpret polysemanticism as lack of clarity, but an invitation for readers to 228

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become active interpreters of the text in order to learn with the writer. In this form of textual connection, readers know that writers are actively creating new rhetorical possibilities that may or may not be familiar to them because the writer constantly tweaks genres and moves between them to amplify expression.

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Figure 2. Phenomenological Autoethnography Prismed

Such rhetorical adaptability, which conforms more comfortably to the writer’s experience than composition traditions, entails a move from objective analysis to a form of poetic realism. In the current institutionalized writing culture, there is much emphasis on objectivity, which has in practice been interpreted as removing any personal attachment to the topic of conversation or presence in the writing process, and to a degree that whether or not to use “I” in writing is still a bone of contention in mainstream school and college composition. An alternative epistemological approach to inquiry is engaging with poetic realism. With a stance of poetic realism, we still aim to comprehend and capture the unbiased truth or the “real,” but at the same time, we allow the presence of the “poetic” in our writing in order to make space for rhetorical expansions and adaptations that can best represent our experiences of phenomena. Ironically, the poetic side of poetic realism creates the objectivity that prescribed academic and essay writing approaches often seek by making the subjectivity involve in the process of inquiry transparent. It also provides an extra epistemic edge to the writing by facilitating unique access to phenomena, a perspective that cannot be replicated.

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Boochani, B. [TEDx Talks]. (2019, July 30). Writing is an act of resistance [Video]. YouTube. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZCPsS5Ais0 Boochani, B. [Farsiland New Zealand]. (2019, December 3). Interview for Farsiland New Zealand [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8SQZ6dvkvQ Boochani, B. [citygallerywgtn]. (2020, January 26). Hoda Afshar, Behrouz Boochani, and Murdoch Stephens in conversation at City Gallery [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZCAsOqiSU Bourke, B. (2014). Positionality: Reflecting on the research process. Qualitative Report, 19(33), 1–9. Browne, S. H. (2012). Angelina Grimke: Rhetoric, identity, and the radical imagination. MSU Press. doi:10.14321/j.ctt7zt7k7

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Canagarajah, A. S. (2012). Teacher development in a global profession: An autoethnography. TESOL Quarterly, 46(2), 258–279. doi:10.1002/tesq.18 Chelstrom, E. (2013). Social phenomenology: Husserl, intersubjectivity, and collective intentionality. Lexington Books. Chun, C. W. (2019). Writing as resistance in an age of demagoguery. Writing & Pedagogy, 11(3), 311–328. doi:10.1558/wap.40490 Cockcroft, R., & Cockcroft, S. (2013). Persuading people: An introduction to rhetoric. Macmillan International Higher Education. Corbett, E. P. J. (1990). Classical rhetoric for the modern student (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Cousin, G. (2010). Positioning positionality: The reflexive turn. In M. Savin-Baden & C. H. Major (Eds.), New approaches to qualitative research: Wisdom and uncertainty (pp. 9–18). Routledge. Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Historical social research. Historische Sozialforschung, 36(4), 273–290. Fahnestock, J. (2011). Rhetorical style: The uses of language in persuasion. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764129.001.0001 Feyerabend, P. (1975). Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge. New Left Books. Flower, L. (2008). Community literacy and the rhetoric of public engagement. SIU Press. Fortunati, L., & Vincent, J. (2014). Sociological insights on the comparison of writing/reading on paper with writing/reading digitally. Telematics and Informatics, 31(1), 39–51. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2013.02.005 Freedman, A., & Smart, G. (1997). Navigating the current of economic policy: Written genres and the distribution of cognitive work at a financial institution. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 4(4), 238–255. doi:10.120715327884mca0404_3 Gallien, C. (2018). ‘Refugee Literature’: What Postcolonial Theory Has to Say. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 54(6), 721–726. doi:10.1080/17449855.2018.1555206 Goldman, A., & Whitcomb, D. (Eds.). (2011). Social epistemology: Essential readings. Oxford University Press.

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Grabill, J. T., & Hicks, T. (2005). Multiliteracies meet methods: The case for digital writing in English education. English Education, 37(4), 301–311. Graham, S. (2018). A revised writer(s)-within-community model of writing. Educational Psychologist, 53(4), 258–279. doi:10.1080/00461520.2018.1481406 Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 42–55. doi:10.1177/160940690400300104 Grumet, M. R. (1990). Voice: The search for a feminist rhetoric for educational studies. Cambridge Journal of Education, 20(3), 277–282. doi:10.1080/0305764900200307

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Heidegger, M. (2002). The origin of the work of art. In Off the beaten track (Y. Julian & H. Kenneth, Trans.; pp. 1–56). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1950) Heidegger, M. (2010). Being and time. Suny Press. (Original work published 1927) Hojat, M., Gonnella, J. S., & Caelleigh, A. S. (2003). Impartial judgment by the “gatekeepers” of science: Fallibility and accountability in the peer review process. Advances in Health Sciences Education: Theory and Practice, 8(1), 75–96. doi:10.1023/A:1022670432373 PMID:12652170 Howard, R. M. (2001). Collaborative pedagogy. In G. Tate, A. Rupiper, & K. Schick (Eds.), A guide to composition pedagogies (pp. 54–70). Oxford University Press. Husserl, E. (2012). Logical Investigations. Routledge. (Original work published 1900–1901) Jarratt, C. J. (2001). Feminist pedagogy. In G. Tate, A. Rupiper, & K. Schick (Eds.), A guide to composition pedagogies (pp. 113–131). Oxford University Press. Jugmohan, P., Naidoo, J., Pennefather, J., Ramsuran, A., & Muthukrishna, N. (2007). Sense making frameworks: Dominant, discursive constructions of learners and communities by teachers in the context of intersecting barriers to basic education. Perspectives in Education, 25(1), 31–44. Kalali Sarvestani, A. & Boochani (Directors) (2017). Chauka, please tell us the time [Motion picture]. Savrin Productions. Kalan, A., Jafari, P., & Aghajani, M. (2019). A Collaborative Practitioner Inquiry into Societal and Power-Relational Contexts of an Activist Writing Community’s Textual Events. International Journal of Action Research, 15(1), 62–80. doi:10.3224/ijar.v15i1.05 Kamali Sarvestani, A. (2017, October 26). Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time Q&A | BFI London Film Festival 2017 [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP2QM8P_O4w Kitchin, R. (2014). Engaging publics: Writing as praxis. Cultural Geographies, 21(1), 153–157. doi:10.1177/1474474012462535 Lunsford, A. A., Ruszkiewicz, J. J., & Walters, K. (2004). Everything’s an argument. Bedford/St. Martin’s. Lysaker, J. (2014). Writing as praxis. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 28(4), 521–536. doi:10.5325/ jspecphil.28.4.0521

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Mason-Bish, H. (2019). The elite delusion: Reflexivity, identity and positionality in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 19(3), 263–276. doi:10.1177/1468794118770078 Mathieu, P., Parks, S., & Rousculp, T. (Eds.). (2012). Circulating communities: The tactics and strategies of community publishing. Lexington Books. McQuail, D. (1987). Mass communication theory: An introduction. Sage Publications, Inc. Merchant, G. (2007). Writing the future in the digital age. Literacy, 41(3), 118–128. doi:10.1111/j.14679345.2007.00469.x Merleau-Ponty, M. (1995). Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1945)

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Mohanty, S. P. (2018). Social justice and culture: On identity, intersectionality, and epistemic privilege. In G. Craig (Ed.), Handbook on global social justice (pp. 418–427). Edward Elgar. doi:10.4337/9781786431424.00040 Park, D. B. (1982). The Meanings of “Audience”. College English, 44(3), 247–257. doi:10.2307/377012 Powell, K. (2010). Gatekeeper’s burden. Nature, 464(7289), 800–801. doi:10.1038/nj7289-800a Ramage, J. D., Bean, J. C., & Johnson, J. (2018). Writing arguments: A rhetoric with readings. Pearson. Rapp, C. (2010). Aristotle’s rhetoric. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2002 edition). Retrieved from https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/win2011/entries/ aristotle-rhetoric/ Rivkin, J., & Ryan, M. (Eds.). (2014). Literary theory: An anthology. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Schear, J. K. (2007). Judgment and Ontology in Heidegger’s Phenomenology. New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy, 7, 127–158. Schiltz, J., Vindevogel, S., Derluyn, I., & Vanderplasschen, W. (2019). Uncertainty in situations of forced displacement: A critical interpretative synthesis of refugee literature. Population Space and Place, 25(3), 1–10. doi:10.1002/psp.2194 Simon, R., & Campano, G. (2013). Activist literacies: Teacher research as resistance to the “normal curve”. Journal of Language & Literacy Education, 9(1), 21–39. Storch, N. (2005). Collaborative writing: Product, process, and students’ reflections. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14(3), 153–173. doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2005.05.002 Szanto, T. (2016). Husserl on collective intentionality. In The Phenomenological Approach to Social Reality (pp. 145–172). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27692-2_7 Tofighian, O., & Boochani, B. [statelibraryqld]. (2019, September 4). Talking Ideas: No Friend But the Mountains with Behrouz Boochani [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_F79lPZcHg Troye Nordkvelle, Y. (2003). Didactics: From classical rhetoric to kitchen-Latin. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 11(3), 315–330. doi:10.1080/14681360300200177 Van Manen, M. (1984). Practicing phenomenological writing. Phenomenology + Pedagogy, 2(1), 36–69.

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Vasanthakumar, A. (2018). Epistemic privilege and victims’ duties to resist their oppression. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 35(3), 465–480. doi:10.1111/japp.12255 Vertova, G. (2006). The changing economic geography of globalization. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9780203000403 Warschauer, M. (2007). Technology and writing. In International handbook of English language teaching (pp. 907–917). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-46301-8_60 Waters, S., & Russell, W. B. III. (2017). Utilizing film to explore global human rights violations. Social Education, 81(3), 174–177.

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Yagelski, R. P. (2012). Writing as praxis. English Education, 44(2), 188–204.

ADDITIONAL READING Adams, T. E., Holman Jones, S. L., & Ellis, C. (2015). Autoethnography. Oxford University Press. Balfour, M. (Ed.). (2013). Refugee performance: Practical encounters. Intellect Books. Cox, E. (2015). Performing Noncitizenship: Asylum seekers in Australian theatre, film and activism. Anthem Press. Fisek, E. (2017). Aesthetic Citizenship: Immigration and Theater in Twenty-First-Century Paris. Northwestern University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv47w6rb Fleishman, M. (2014). Performing migrancy and mobility in Africa: Cape of flows. Springer. Kozel, S. (2008). Closer: Performance, technologies, phenomenology. MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262113106.001.0001 Lyotard Jean-François. (1991). Phenomenology. State University of New York Press. Stover, J. M. (2003). Rhetoric and resistance in black women’s autobiography. University Press of Florida.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Autoethnography: An inquiry/writing genre that hinges on the “self” as its major epistemological lens. Digital Fiction: Fiction created by digital means. Genre: Socially constructed and accepted rhetorical structures. Phenomenology: Epistemological study of the impact of positionality on consciousness. Poetic Realism: A theoretical genre model that regards creative genre formation as a means of capturing reality by encompassing all its complexities. Refugee Literature: Literature that contains refugees’ experiences. Smartphone Filmmaking: Low budget alternative filmmaking made possible by smartphones.

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Chapter 13

Female Writings in Times of Crisis:

A Transnational Feminist and Sociolinguistic Study Nancy Al-Doghmi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9692-0762 Yarmouk University, Jordan Reema Salah https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9015-086X Al al-Bayt University, Jordan

ABSTRACT

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This chapter presents a critical study of female writing practices in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels. It studies 10 personal narratives by Arab and American women responding to the global coronavirus crisis in writing. The authors’ responses vary and their narratives of crisis, whether short stories, personal essays, or testimonies, represent the heterogeneity of each woman’s life experience. The study examines women’s gendered reactions in these narratives as presenting a new kind of subjectivity that women adopt to respond to life crises, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build communications and coalitions. Writing becomes an instrumental voice for these women to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. By adopting a transnational literary feminist theoretical approach as well as a sociolinguistic one, the study explores a complex relationship between crisis, gender, and writing that reveals how female subjects use the narrative form in times of crisis.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch013

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 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

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INTRODUCTION In her Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, Chandra Talpade Mohanty (2003) argues that women’s “life story-oriented written narratives” are a context to examine their identity and consciousness. Affirming that “written texts are not produced in a vacuum,” she studies women’s writings of various kinds; testimonials, life stories, and oral histories, as “a significant mode of remembering and recording experience and struggles” (Mohanty, 2003, p. 77). These female personal narratives become a space to examine women’s gendered reactions to different life experiences and crises. While their narratives reveal their personal identities, they present a new kind of subjectivity that women adopt to respond to life crises, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build communications and coalitions. Writing becomes an instrumental voice for these women to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. Within this context of studying women writings as self-revelatory, this chapter examines female writing practices in response to COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels. It studies ten personal narratives by Arab and American women responding to the 2020 global Corona crisis in writing. While some differences appear between countries all over the world in terms of the crisis’ economic, political, and social impact, women of various cultures, social classes, ethnicities, and religions were exposed to the same measures of lockdown, quarantine, and curfew implemented in their countries. However, their responses vary and their narratives of crisis represent the heterogeneity and particularity of each woman’s life experience. The narratives are situated within the cultural, social, gender, economic, and religious exigencies of these women’s lives. While examining a global crisis as seen by female lenses, the researchers are not generalizing about all women and the selection of the ten personal narratives does not represent all Arab and American women. But their validity is justified because of their diversity in reflecting different cultural, social, ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds. There is no doubt that the Arab and the American women writers in this study are inter-culturally and ethnically heterogeneous; however, each group is in itself intra-culturally various in terms of nationality, religious beliefs, gender-roles orientation, education, and economic status. Therefore, they offer the researchers the means to a wide examination of women writings of crisis. In this sense, a detailed examination of variables is provided and subjectivity is contextualized within larger heterogeneous cultures and ethnicities. With the emphasis placed on how women use the power of writing and narrative to respond to crisis, this qualitative study tries to offer an understanding of the role of writing by women of various backgrounds in times of crisis, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on women of different cultures, ethnicities, and educational levels as exposed in their self-narratives, and the relationship between crisis and writing as a gendered practice adopted by women for different purposes across a wide range of social environments. Relatively, the study argues that a transnational feminist examination and a linguistic discourse analysis of narrative texts produced by Arab and American women about their experiences during COVID-19 crisis show diverse gendered reactions, that reflect the cultural, social, ethnic, and economic heterogeneity of these women’s lives; develop a new autobiographic subjectivity that presents their personal identities as political; and reveal various patterns of language use. As for analytical framework, this study uses a transnational literary feminist theoretical and sociolinguistic approach to deepen an understanding of female writing practices about crisis. Unlike western feminist modalities, such as, global sisterhood and international feminism, the transnational feminist approach enables the researchers to examine women’s lives as situated within larger “scattered hegemonies” 236

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as coined by Grewal and Kaplan (1994). While these female subjects are examined within their social, cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender exigencies, they explore a larger sphere of social relations among women across cultural and national borders. This transcendence of borders shows the similarities and differences between the Arab and American female voices within a multiplicity of global forces and historical constructs. The sociolinguistic approach, on the other hand, adopts a discourse analysis framework that examines the use of language in the narrative and explores the different patterns of language use as reflecting the writer’s gender, ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious particularity while impacted by COVID-19. This approach enables the researchers to affirm the presupposition of a correlation between the female writing style in the narratives and the impact of crisis they reflect. Subsequently, a sociolinguistic analysis of the texts explores the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the language used by the female writers. The narratives by Arab and American women in this study appear online and in print in a number of publications that offered an arena for the public to reflect on their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic between March and July 2020. While most women in the study reflect on their personal responses to the crisis, some of them adopt an objective voice or reflect on other women’s experiences of the crisis. The study shows as its central findings the diversity of the gendered reactions to crisis in these writings as situated within each writer’s life exigencies, the multiple similarities and differences between Arab and American women lives when examined against larger global hegemonies, and the role of writing as healing, empowering, and self-revealing in these women’s responses to crisis as they try to overcome pain and isolation, create meanings and opportunities, and build communications and coalitions. Furthermore, the different forms of writing practices expose a new kind of autobiographic subjectivity that resists traditional norms of self-narratives and create a new meaning of women writing as both personal and political. By examining the gendered impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women, the study reveals a tripartite relationship between crisis, gender, and writing. The current analysis of these practices enables the readers to understand how these women from their locales respond to a crisis in the same way it enabled these women writers to understand and discover themselves.

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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Ten Arab and American personal narratives are used as the baseline of this study to provide literary and linguistic analysis of female writings of crisis. The research aims at examining female writing practices in response to COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, religious beliefs and educational levels. It also offers insights into the role of writing by females from various backgrounds. Moreover, the research investigates a complex relationship between crisis, gender, and writing that reveals how female subjects use the narrative form in times of crisis. The study, therefore, aims to answer the following questions: • • •

To what extent Arab and American female writing practices in times of crisis difer in terms of their cultures, ethnicities, social classes, religious beliefs and educational levels? How does female writing in times of crisis create self-awareness and political consciousness for Arab and American writers? How do women reveal the impact of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic in their self-narratives and language? 237

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 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

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What is the relationship between crisis, gender, and female literacy practices?

A qualitative interpretive approach is used to generate a frame of writing style based on personal narratives by five American women living in Seattle, USA, and five Arab women living in different locales inside and outside the Arab world during the Coronavirus crisis. The researchers have applied a transnational feminist theory and a sociolinguistic approach, as elaborated above, to analyze the literary works in terms of a. sociological aspects of communication, the cultural, social, ethnic, and religious variables, and the role of writing in creating a female personal identity and political consciousness in times of crisis.

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THE GENDERED IMPACT OF COVID-19 CRISIS COVID-19, which has been characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), is creating an unprecedented global medical, social, economic, and ideological crisis. While ravaging people’s lives, jobs, and economies across the globe, it rapidly sweeps to change people’s beliefs, ideologies, and life aspirations. Women have been reported to face a huge social and economic impact of the pandemic. According to the United Nations Women Organization (2020), “when resources are strained and institutional capacity is limited, women and girls face disproportionate impacts with far reaching consequences in times of crisis” (para. 1). Clearly, COVID-19 has affected men and women differently as explored by Lewis (2020) who argues that an infectious-disease outbreak like the Coronavirus “will affect women differently because of their caring responsibilities” (para. 3). While struggling with job losses, low wages, school closures, and household isolations, women tend to tackle extra caring tasks whether for pandemic patients, older family members, or children kept home from school. Lewis (2020) acknowledges that “the unpaid caring labor will fall more heavily on women, because of the existing structure of the workforce” (para. 6). Such a pandemic “magnifies all existing inequalities” and as a far-reaching consequence, “across the world, women’s independence will be a silent victim of the pandemic” (Lewis, 2020, para. 3). The gendered impact of COVID-19 started to resonate across the world reminding all communities of different inequalities surfaced during other global epidemics; such as, Ebola, SARS, Zika, and the Swine flu. The impact on women was noticed in the rise in domestic and sexual violence, maternal mortality, education dropouts, alcohol consumption, and financial difficulties (Lewis, 2020, para. 11). These incidents have raised the question of how a pandemic crisis affects women differently, which is the first aspect of the current study. The female writers, as the ones in this study, expose in their writings the gendered impact of the Corona crisis. They reveal, as analyzed in the discussion part, how this specific crisis affected their lives particularly as “women.” The second aspect of this study examines writing itself as a gendered practice that women tend to resort to in times of crisis.

GENDER, LITERACY, AND CRISIS When studying female writing practices in response to crisis, it is essential to examine the interplay between society, crisis, and personal literacy practices. Barton and Hamilton (2000) present a theory of literacy as a social practice which conceptualizes “the link between the activities of reading and 238

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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writing and the social structures in which they are embedded and which they help shape” (p. 7). They define literacy practices as “the general cultural ways of utilizing written language which people draw upon in their lives” (Barton & Hamilton, 2000, p. 7). The literacy practices as such are both social and individual; they are internally embedded cultural constructs that reveal the individual’s values, attitudes, feelings, and social relationships on one hand, and externally reflected to show the social processes that connect people and include shared cognitions as in ideologies and social identities, on the other (Barton & Hamilton, 2000). MacGillivray and Brenner (2010) explore the relationship between crisis and literacy practices across a wide range of people, places, cultures, and situations. They present a theoretical understanding of literacy practices as situated in social practices for the purpose of helping communities recognize, cope with, and avoid crisis (pp. iv-x). The authors examine how an event becomes a crisis when it overwhelms “the systems that made things ‘work’” and “when it raises a problem that cannot be solved in the immediate future” (MacGillivray & Brenner, 2010, p. 1). In this sense, the Coronavirus pandemic is a social crisis that works as a catalyst for literacy practices. MacGillivray and Brenner (2010) identify six facets of the crisis that can affect literacy practices: scale, visibility, commonness, relative manageability/ impact, expectedness, and perception. Unlike the crises that MacGillivray and Brenner (2010) explore in their study, the Coronavirus crisis appears as one kind of crisis affecting the whole world. It is global in scale, highly public and visible, less common in perceived frequency, unexpected, and devastating in its impact in terms of the loss of life and financial resources; and the emotional and psychological impact on people. However, it varies in its perception and the range of reactions it engenders, and this is the one facet that this study adopts for discussion. Furthermore, MacGillivray and Brenner (2010) analyze time-limited crises in their study while the Coronavirus Pandemic appears as a long-term dilemma due to its catastrophic consequences and severe impacts on people and communities. Additionally, this current study addresses this research gap by exploring a tripartite relationship between crisis, gender, and writing.

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TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST THEORY: SITUATING THE ARAB AND THE AMERICAN Studying female literacy practices in response to COVID-19, this research adopts a transnational feminist theoretical approach to explore the personal narratives of these women within larger contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels (Grewal & Kaplan, 1994; Anzaldúa, 1999; Mohanty, 2003). While feminist theories of global sisterhood have ignored the life experiences of non-western, women of color, and “Third World women” as used by Mohanty (2003), international feminisms present nation-states as distinct entities disconnected transnationally. Women from different regions around the world do not share the same experiences with gender, racial, and ethnic discrimination. However, transnational feminist theories recognize that the contemporary world structure as shaped by global capitalist and neoliberal powers has created similarities between women around the world considering their exploitation, discrimination against, and injustices. Transnational feminism, therefore, creates a global space for women across nation-states to build solidarity and seek collaboration. While these female subjects are examined within their social, cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender exigencies, they explore a larger sphere of social relations among women across borders of nations and cultures (Grewal & Kaplan, 1994).

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Grewal and Kaplan (1994) present a transnational conceptualization of women’s lives as situated within larger “scattered hegemonies” (p.7). It is a historically contextualized approach that transcends a one-sided relationship of women subjects with patriarchal structures to a larger multi-faceted relationship with different historicized hegemonies. In a similar vein, the Arab and American female voices in this study are examined within a multiplicity of global forces and historical constructs that resist any obliteration of their life experiences within a monolithic, essentialist hegemonic paradigm. The female subjects in this study are examined within the realities of their life that they try to voice out in their personal narratives through a transnational feminist paradigm. Grewal and Kaplan (1994) present their work as “a multinational and multilocational approach to questions of gender” (p. 3). While studying postmodernity and postmodernism, Grewal and Kaplan’s (1994) theory of transnational feminism warn against any exclusion of “the material conditions that structure women’s lives in diverse locations” (p. 9). Subsequently, each single personal narrative in this study would be contextualized within the larger global, capitalist, and neoliberal hegemonies. Grewal and Kaplan (1994) demonstrate: In working to construct a terrain of coalition and cooperation, however, we have to rearticulate the histories of how people in different locations and circumstances are linked by the spread of and resistance to modern capitalist social formations even as their experiences of these phenomena are not at all the same or equal. (p. 5) This framework of a feminist agenda would enable an investigation of how women’s lives across cultures, ethnicities, and religions have been challenged and/or transformed by the global crisis of COVID-19 as socialized in their personal narratives of crisis.

WOMEN AND WRITING Transnational feminists believe that the female practices of writing, rewriting, and remembering history are not produced in a vacuum (Mohanty, 2003). Women write as truth-tellers to authenticate and contextualize their lives within the public and the global, which gives their voice a political power. Mohanty (2003) argues:

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Feminist analysis has always recognized the centrality of rewriting and remembering history, a process that is significant not merely as a corrective to the gaps, erasures, and misunderstandings of hegemonic masculinist history but because the very practice of remembering and rewriting leads to the formation of politicized consciousness and self-identity. Writing often becomes the context through which new political identities are forged. (p. 78) The significance of female literacy practices presents a new meaning of women writing as both personal and political; an articulation that Mohanty (2003) adopts to criticize Western forms of feminism as failing to account for the voices of non-Western female subjects. While Western feminisms read women’s struggle within various inequalities as a consequence of a history of masculinist and patriarchal hegemonies, transnational feminism recognizes the non-linearity of women’s life experiences. It contextualizes female voices within larger hegemonic constructs of culture, gender, economics, religion, and sexuality. The self-awareness and the political consciousness that are voiced in the sample female writings cannot be 240

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 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

homogenized as a feminist resistance to patriarchy. The transnational feminist approach in hand examines how these women are forging both a new subjective voice and a new politically situated self-identity. Examining various literacy practices, Mohanty (2003) argues, “questions of subjectivity are always multiply mediated through the axes of race, class/caste, sexuality, and gender” (p.77). She adds, “writing is itself an activity marked by class and ethnic position” (Mohanty, 2003, p.77). The author’s heterogeneous particularities cannot be eschewed if we are to articulate the personal within the political. Unquestionably, the gendered literacy practices are examined within each woman’s heterogeneity. While struggling with the impact of the pandemic on a daily basis, women’s writing practices have been a probe for different feminist theoretical approaches by connecting writing with the experience of gender. It is essential to clarify that the theoretical reference to “Woman Writing” as opposed to “Man Writing” entails the culturally constructed social experience of man/ woman or masculine/ feminine instead of the biologically founded male/ female. The examination of gender as a social construct will fill up the gap in research by connecting the issue of gendered writing with the above discussed theories of literacy practices as “cultural ways of utilizing language” (Barton & Hamilton, 2000, p. 7). The ratification that literacy as a practice is immersed into the social and cultural suggests that all writing is gendered. Nevertheless, the idea of a woman writing received a wide range of feminist examination. French feminist Simone de Beauvoir (1949) has pioneered a discussion of gender identity as a social/ cultural construct. Hence, the woman speaks of a gender identity that is socially constructed in her writing. On the other hand, Hélène Cixous (1976) demonstrated the écriture féminine to emphasize the inclusion of the female body and woman’s biological difference in her writing. She defended the idea that all forms of female creativity and inspiration should come from the female body. However, women writers struggle if there are no gender markers exposed in the text because it presupposes that the writer speaks of a man’s experience. Second-wave feminist, discusses Gambaudo (2017), advocate two things: [T]he importance of one’s confrontation with a phenomenology of femaleness in writing material and the importance of having female authors. So, in their eyes, gendered writing is not solely about the stuff that writing is made of but also about the reader’s experience of ‘woman stuff’ … Gendered writing is about harmony between author and her text, between her being and her telling of being. (p. 24)

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While transnational feminist approaches emphasize that a woman’s experience with writing necessarily reflects on her gender identity construction, the examination of women writing practices as gendered entails a thorough contextualization of the female experience within the different forces of race, class, religion, colonialism, and capitalism.

FEMALE PERSONAL NARRATIVES: A LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE As the immediate topic of the current research addresses itself to an investigation of female writing style during times of crisis, an analysis of the various linguistic features of the texts is presented to affirm a direct correlation between the female writing style and the time of crisis it reflects. Accordingly, the ten literary works were analyzed and interpreted in light of linguistic and cultural parameters. The first step of analysis was identifying the genre of the literary works. Based on the literary form of discourse, the texts of the current study were categorized into three genres: one second-person narrative report, four personal narrative articles, and five personal narrative essays. 241

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Linguistically, a discourse analytical approach is adopted to explore the specific use of language by each female writer to reflect the social and cultural context in which the written text is situated. According to Paltridge (2012), the term Discourse Analysis: examines patterns of language across texts and considers the relationship between language and the social and cultural contexts in which it is used. Discourse analysis also considers the ways that the use of language presents different views of the world and different understandings. It examines how the use of language is influenced by relationships between participants as well as the effects the use of language has upon social identities and relations. It also considers how views of the world, and identities, are constructed through the use of discourse. (p. 2) The correlation that the linguistic discourse analysis assumes between the use of language and social/ cultural context confirms that the purpose of narrative texts is to “share experience, bond together, and to story lives, events, and identities” (Gee, 2018, p. 116). Furthermore, as a social activity, narrative discourse is deep-rooted in the level of interaction, and the level of discursive and social practice (De Fina et al., 2015). Generally, the scope of analysis of narrative discourse focuses on how narratives are structured into their formal features, cultural resonance and meaningfulness (Thornborrow, 2012). While discourse can be seen as general social set of ideas in a particular topic, discourse analysis may interrelate with a branch of cultural studies (Bodrov et al., 2019). Accordingly, a sociolinguistic analysis of the female texts explores the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the language used by these writers. While it is doubtlessly known that COVID-19 and its consequent quarantine have a significant impact, whether positive or negative, on people all over the world, this impact may reflect on several areas of the individual’s personality, beliefs, and/or style of life, which in turn affect the way writers respond in writing and the language they use.

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PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDY Between March and July 2020, two public monthly magazines; Seattle Magazine, located in Seattle, Washington, and The Arabic Magazine, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, offered an arena for their readers to contribute their reflections on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their daily lives. While most published pieces in Seattle Magazine were by women (16 female personal narratives, 3 stories by one female reporter, and only 3 pieces by male writers), only two female personal essays (out of 14, all by professional writers) were published in The Arabic Magazine in a special issue on “Creativity and Isolation” in July 2020. It is worth mentioning, though, that The Arabic Magazine is a professional literary and cultural magazine that includes voices of professional authors, while the Seattle Magazine is an open platform for all writers of all literacy levels. However, the current study includes three more voices by Arab women reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives as published in other platforms; such as, Al-Jazira Daily Newspaper, Sada Alhijaz Electronic Newspaper, and “Wlaha Wogoh Okhra” (She has Other Faces) E-Woman Magazine. This study examines the life experiences of crisis as explored in the personal narratives of these diverse women who are situated in their specific locales in different parts of the Arab world and the U.S. While they appear as inter-culturally and ethnically heterogeneous as both Arab and American, the women of this study are also intra-culturally various in terms of nationality (the Arab women examined 242

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

are Jordanians, Egyptians, Saudis, and Tunisians), religious beliefs, gender-roles orientation, education, and economic status. The ethnic identity label of “Arab” is inspected within particular nation-states, which assume conservative/ non-conservative, and religious/ non-religious voices. The Arab women in the study are professional writers whose education ranges from bachelor to doctoral degrees. While all have reflected on their lives as workingwomen of a mature age, only two have mentioned the question of age in their narratives. The American female Seattleites, alternatively, are heterogeneous in light of their ethnic origin, age, education, and economic status. While one of them is a teen photographer, the rest have reflected on their lives as economically struggling working women of a mature age. However, these women are all from among the few to early reflect on the impact of the pandemic on their lives in writing. Seattle was the first epicenter in the U.S. and among the few metropolitan cities to implement the measures of quarantine and lockdown. Table 1 below shows the dates of reporting the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the countries where the writers of the sample works live during the pandemic, and the dates of the narrative’s publication (WHO, 2020, January 23; February 27; March 3). While the Corona Pandemic has affected countries differently in terms of the crisis’ economic, political, and social impact, the inter-culturally and intra-culturally diverse women of the current study are situated within a larger transnational context in which they are impacted by the same global measures for the first time. It is unprecedented that we hear several heterogeneous female voices speaking from behind facemasks about the impact of the same crisis on their lives. Furthermore, they all adopted writing, although of different genres, to use in their personal narratives. Table 1. Date of first confirmed affected case of Covid-19 in US, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia

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Country

Participants

Date of First Confirmed Case of COVID-19

WHO Report

Narrative’s Date of Publication

United Sates of America

Nicole Hardy Jessica Mooney Sara Porkalob Sophia Chew Trisha Kostis

2020, January 23

Report 3

March & April, 2020

Egypt

Ala’a Hassan

2020, February 27

Report 38

May 20, 2020

Jordan

Hana Albawwab

2020, March 3

Report 43

June 30, 2020

Saudi Arabia

Fawziyya Abu Khalid Rawan Alhajjouri

2020, March 3

Report 43

March 25 & April 16, 2020

Tunisia

Hayat Alrayes

2020, March 3

Report 43

June 30, 2020

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Emancipating Power of Creative Writing In reflecting on her 1987 autobiographical Memoirs from the Women’s Prison, Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Sa’adawi (2006) demonstrates that a prison experience is necessary for literary creativity. While the confinement experience is not something one would imagine herself living, a writer’s mind, like El Sa’adawi’s, has absorbed it differently as she reflects:

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Whether it’s a novel or an autobiography, prose or verse, that you are writing, these barriers collapse when the line between the body and the soul, the past and the present, the space and time collapses. In prison, I felt the freedom of leaving daily life behind … I was living outside the universe, looking at it from away without being a part of it. We need this space to be able to see ourselves and others. (El Sa’adawi, 2006, pp. 56-57) This kind of positive reflection on the role of creative writing in times of crisis has infiltrated some of the Arab women personal narratives. For example, literary author and academic Hana Albawwab (2020) from Jordan has found it first very difficult to comprehend the catastrophic chaos that erupted at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. While describing the pandemic outbreak as a heavy moment between stupor and consciousness, she imagines herself a confined corpse in bed shockingly staring around the room looking for an escape. Fortunately, she later found a positive glimpse in her creative writing, which she describes as a return back to the true self. “Only this coercive quarantine will release the creativity inside oneself; the old reservoir that is imposed on us and we no longer can run away from it because we desperately need to breathe and air is on strike” (Albawwab, 2020, para. 1). As a literary author, poet, and director, Albawwab finds her freedom out of the quarantine in her creative writing practices. Writing becomes the haven for an intellect like Albawwab though she acknowledges that her life after the Coronavirus pandemic would never be the same as before. Albawwab (2020), who titled her personal narrative “In the Solitary Confinement,” resonates El Sa’adawi’s (2006) need for writing in the confinement, albeit with an uncertain, subjective voice. Her earlier pessimistic voice rises from her inability to choose what to write about as before. She is divided between what she is required to write about by the society and what she personally wants to reflect on. She describes this writing dilemma as:

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Writing about my daily life keeps me busy and puts me in a crucible of ‘sanitary emotions’ to write, though I do not know where to start or how I can adapt with a life that forces me to put my pen aside. I have to write chaotic, destructive, revolutionary, political mantras against the earth’s population. I have to subject the world under my control as one of the public intellects… We just need to live in an intellectual isolation for now because we stopped thinking about the abnormal that disrupted our lives despite our social distancing. (Albawwab, 2020, para. 2) The writer’s dilemma that Albawwab (2020) reflects on marks an intellectual impact of the Coronavirus crisis on professional writers and literary authors. While she considers writing as an emotional “sanitizer” that keeps her sanity in times of crisis, she cannot ignore the negative impact of the pandemic on her intellectual abilities and creative writing productivity. She describes the social, political, economic impact of the crisis on people’s lives, but above all, puts an emphasis on the subversive mental, psychological, emotional, and intellectual effects of the quarantine and isolation.

The Personal is Political and The Forging of New Subjectivity According to transnational feminist theorist Chandra Mohanty (2003), writing becomes an instrumental voice for women to express themselves, resist, and survive. Focusing on Third World Women in her study, Mohanty (2003) argues that these women find a level of containment in writing and rewriting history in which they reveal their personalities, empower themselves, and build new “political consciousness” 244

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and “self-identity” (p. 78). It is this new writer identity that Albawwab is forming as a consequence of the Coronavirus pandemic. She realizes that a new authorship identity is required to balance between her personal needs and the exigencies of her society. As an Arab writer, Albawwab (2020) presents a different subjectivity that predominates her narrative and presents a political consciousness that she raises when she reflects on the social impact of the pandemic on people’s lives. Albawwab criticizes the individualized responses to the pandemic in her society; a political statement in which she reflects on a larger global, neoliberal politics that is invading the whole world. She states: The Coronavirus hand has messed up our world causing disruptive social, political, and economic changes; even in human relationships… we have distanced socially, physically, and emotionally to the limit that one is struggling to get out of the bottle first to steal the first breath. (para. 2) Ostensibly, Albawwab (2020) presents a powerful political statement that reflects a larger political and ideological consciousness of world structure. As author and cultural critic, Henry A. Giroux (2020) argues, “The current coronavirus pandemic is more than a medical crisis, it is also a political and ideological crisis” (para. 1). Giroux was among the first authors to discuss the neoliberal ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis. Building his analysis on the criticism of neoliberal governments all over the world, Giroux (2020) speaks of a neoliberal “politics of depoliticization” in which “individual responsibility is the only way to address social problems” (para. 3). Such ideology ignores collective responsibility, solidarity and equality and emphasizes “extreme competitiveness and irrational selfishness” (para. 3-4). In this sense, Albawwab (2020) has recognized this individual selfishness in society as an impact of the pandemic while it reflects a larger political hegemony that is instilled in the individual by global capitalist and neoliberal politics.

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The Sociolinguistic Voice Between the Real and the Rhetorical Linguistically, the first part of Albawwab’s (2020) article seems to be a literary piece of art, in which figurative speech is utilized when she wrote, “My papers, my table and myself sip this silent world which became as a soulless, colorless painting picture”; “I heavily open my eyes while the world is hanging like bats drenched with sorrow”; and “this virus avenged humans for itself and its family” (para. 1). Rhetoric and rhetorical wisdom were another sign of the literary knowledge and skill of the author. Evidence of such language techniques was “mandatory isolation alone forces you to release your creativity” and “the number of Covid patients insists on the declaration of the only banner of freedom (stay home)” (para. 1). Therefore, this kind of narrative presents the authorial voice as highly rhetorical when it comes to revealing personal emotions and/or reflecting on the female writer’s life experience. The second part of Albawwab’s (2020) article takes the reader to the real world, in which there are not many figurative images used. Interestingly, the turning point was in this sentence: “there is no doubt that corona is a turning point in the modern history of mankind” (para. 2). Linguistically, Albawwab (2020) used two borrowed brand-new words referring to Covidian and Coronial as adjective part of speech: “covidi” and “coroniali” (para. 1) respectively. Socially, in the real-world part, which reflects more the subjective voice of the author, she talked about her quarantine-mood which was often associated with boredom and which prevented her from practicing her daily routine activities; such as, socializing, reading novels and collections of poetry, and working out.

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 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

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The Crisis Negative Impact on the Authorial Voice Similarly, the Tunisian poet and literary author Hayat Alrayes (2020) shares a writer’s identity with the Jordanian Hana Albawwab. However, Alrayes (2020) chooses to distance herself from her narrative by adopting an objective authorial voice. While she also agrees with Giroux (2020) that the current pandemic is an ideological and political crisis, she presents her personal narrative as a representative voice for all literary writers. Alrayes (2020) demonstrates, “As writers, we are mostly creatures who like quarantine life and yearns for it because we build other worlds in our writings that need a provisional separation from this world” (para. 1). However, Alrayes (2020) does not think positively of the current quarantine imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic. As enmeshed with suddenness, compulsion, and coercion, this isolation is based on terror in face of an unseen enemy, and it is unlike the historically self-selected intellectual and literary isolation of philosophers, artists, authors, and poets (para. 2-3). Subsequently, Alrayes (2020) continues her pessimistic reflection on the pandemic and how it deprived her and other authors and artists around the Arab world from face-to-face meetings and collaborations in literary and cultural symposiums and conferences. She ends her personal reflection with a philosophical question that describes the pandemic as a divine message of punishment from mother earth against mankind. Such question repositions Alrayes’ (2020) narrative from the personal to the political and the public but in a negative way. The writer detached herself again from the reader who may not share with her the author’s identity that she carries at the beginning of her narrative, and may not agree with her at the end that the current pandemic is actually a divine punishment. While Albawwab (2020) still believes in the power of writing to resist isolation and survive crises, though by adopting new authorial voices, Alrayes (2020) does not reflect on any different role of writing in times of crisis. Her detached objective voice makes it difficult to reflect on her personal experience with the pandemic. The objectivation of her writing and the detachment of herself go in correspondence with Steiner (2014) who states that females tend to use the pronoun (we) more frequently than (I) in their writings. Alrayes’s (2020) scared authorial voice or “writing ego,” as she described it, is unable to cope with the crisis and is presented as nostalgic for a pre-COVID-19 normal life (para. 2). Generally, three main separate yet comprehensive ideas were conveyed in this narrative. The first section points out the role of technology during the global crisis, and the emergence of a new lifestyle after COVID-19 quarantine. In the second part, Alrayes (2020) suggests that the general atmosphere of the new lifestyle would be the social exclusion which can be considered normal and necessary in the life of writers and intellectuals. Despite the fact that Alrayes (2020) used to socially exclude herself, she became disappointment about the mandatory quarantine; as it caused cancellation of many symposiums and conferences in which she had planned to participate. In the last part of her narrative, Alrayes (2020) connects the idea of mandatory exclusion with an explanation of the reason behind this global pandemic, which is, from her standpoint, delivering a divine message to humanity to stop cruelty, earth rebelled against mankind who has violated the laws of nature, created chaos on earth, and wreaked havoc to innocent people lives.

Writing of Crisis and Self-Consciousness Nevertheless, adopting an objective authorial voice does not necessarily mean a detachment from the reader. The Saudi writer Rawan Alhajjouri (2020) raises a significant question in her personal narrative that would connect together all people affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. She asks in her title “In 246

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 Female Writings in Times of Crisis

Isolation, Who are We?” to relate her article to all readers from different ethnicities, religions, and sociocultural backgrounds. She commenced her article with a simple reflection on how we all used to wish for more days of break, longer hours of sleep, and extended times with family and friends pre-coronavirus. By this, she talks on behalf of all women wished to break their daily routine, without thinking that this wish might be pandemic. Alhajjouri (2020) believes in the individual will that may turn the imposed quarantine into an opportunity to know the inner self. She explains: Those who knew themselves very well should not fear the moment, those who spent enough time with themselves should not panic…but those who found an immense free time in isolation started to try and coincidently knew the previously unknown self. (Alhajjouri, 2020, para. 3) The writer posits a positive impact of the crisis that enables people to dig deep into their inner selves as an opportunity to reflect on the past and build a new identity for the future. Alhajjouri’s (2020) words resonate among women of all ethnic positions and socio-cultural particularities. It is an open call by a woman to all women to invest into this isolation to build a new self-consciousness, discover their abilities, and grow self-confidence. Transnational feminists believe that writing is a way for self-reflection and identity-formation. It is a crucial opportunity for Third World women to reflect on their identity, which has been constructed and exploited in different situations by various hegemonic powers. The female literacy practices of remembering, reflecting, reading, and writing play a significant role in these women’s search for identity. Furthermore, Alhajjouri’s (2020) optimism is linguistically reflected in her narrative, which ends with a heavenly simile describing the pandemic as a dark cloud which fades away when the sun rises. “So, let’s all be the light of that sun!” (para.9). As a message of hope, Alhajjouri (2020) intelligently starts her writing with the word wishes and ends it up with the word light.

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Religious Position and the Female Body The writer’s relationship with her female body is another aspect explored in Arab women personal narratives. Both Fawziyya Abu Khalid (2020) and Ala’a Hassan (2020) have reflected on how the quarantine experience offers a space for women to reconnect with their bodies. Abu Khalid (2020), a Saudi poet and author who writes a weekly article in Al-Jazirah Newspaper, has contributed a significant number of articles to reflect on the crisis. Abu Khalid (2020) outlines the pros of isolation as experienced in this crisis and observes the changes in her relationship with reading, writing, praying, children, water, and the body. While Abu Khalid (2020) previously dealt with her body as a physical tool, the self-imposed quarantine has enabled her to decipher “a new complicated relationship with her body that fluctuates between ignorance, shame, anger, intimacy, fear, sadness, power, weakness, and enchantment” (para. 2). Such a complicated ambiguous relationship is a shocking experience for an Arab Muslim woman who lived many physical challenges with her female body. Although Abu Khalid (2020) did not mention these challenges, it is unquestionable that the female body issue has been situated within different hegemonic discourses in the Arab world. The female body has been constructed, used, and exploited by different patriarchal, nationalist, religious, modernist, and imperialist powers. While Abu Khalid (2020) explores a personal reflection on her relationship with her body in the first part of this narrative, Abu Khalid (2020) moves to a larger public and political aspect of the crisis that is presented in an objective ideological voice. In this part, Abu Khalid (2020) describes the political, 247

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social, and financial impact of the pandemic on people’s lives. She agrees with Giroux (2020) that the pandemic is a political and ideological crisis that started to expose the destructive impact of capitalism and neoliberalism on different communities especially in their privatization and individualization of social problems (Giroux, 2020, para. 3). However, Abu Khalid (2020) ends her article with an optimistic look at the post-Coronavirus pandemic world structure which will revive international collaboration ethics between nations and stronger socio-familial ties in different societies. As a Muslim woman going through such a pandemic, Abu Khalid (2020) linguistically indicates her ultimate reliance on the Almighty God. She continually uses religious-based phrases, such as, “alduaa” (prayers), “bi ithn Allah” (God’s welling), “la qaddar Allah” and “la samaha Allah” (God forbids), and “nabtahel li Allah alla taToul” (We supplicate God that this [pandemic] will not take long to vanish) (Abu Khalid, 2020, paras. 1–10). These reflections assign Abu Khalid (2020) a particular religious position that renders her personal narrative different in comparison with the other female voices in this study.

The Cathartic Power of Rewriting History The female body has stood as a controversial issue in most Arab women personal narratives. Ala’a Hassan (2020) reports on the personal experience of another woman called Shireen who is a young Egyptian graphic designer. Tracing her fragmented voice, Shireen reflects how her self-imposed quarantine has offered an unprecedented space to connect with her inner self. She recognized a new meaning of freedom that comes from the inside but not the outside after resuming to write after stopping for long years. She states, “I discovered that I stopped writing what I feel, though it was my only venue of expressing myself. My only haven was these writings in which I talked to God and my dead grandma and in which I now visit many painful memories” (Hassan, 2020, para. 7). Shireen was a victim of domestic violence that affected her relationship with her father who used to beat her before moving to live with her grandmother. She presents an accurate example of how remembering and rewriting history by women is cathartic. She used to hide all her personal stories from people and feels ashamed that she now lives alone after her grandmother’s death. She states,

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I have cared about what people will say about me because I’m a woman who lives by myself and has a problem with my father. In the patriarchal society in which we live, this is enough to open a wide door of people’s suspicions about my morality. (Hassan, 2020, para.11). The Coronavirus quarantine has offered Shireen a chance to free herself from all oppressive social mandates, to reconcile with her body, to connect with her dead grandmother, and to heal and feel safe to talk about her daughter-father relationship. She has discovered that she used to reject her body to satisfy society’s expectations and present herself as a standardized good-looking female employee in the capital city of Egypt. She has learnt a new meaning of freedom in accepting her grey hair and the increase in her weight. “I truly believe now that I was ignorant about my body… Though I’m still unsure about what I discovered and realized, I feel an immense power to change the lethargy that I have put myself in” (Hassan, 2020, para. 18). Confronting her inner pain, Shireen seeked self-peace and reconciliation with her body, her soul, and her unpleasant memories with her violent father.

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Crisis, Writing, and Female Body Awareness Transnational feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa (1999) argues that part of woman’s self-identity formation, which is a constant process of transformation, the female subject develops a “body awareness” in which she realizes that she has a body (p. 553). Both Arab and American women writers of this study reflect on this kind of body awareness as one impact of the crisis quarantine. Such awareness is reflected in both Abu Khalid (2020) and Hassan’s (2020) narratives. The two personal narratives have shown the struggle of a female body in crisis, which can be seen as necessary for their self-identity consciousness. Anzaldúa (1999) believes that it is “useful – it signals that you need to make changes in your life, it challenges your tendency to withdraw, it reminds you to take action. To reclaim body consciousness … engage with the world” (p. 553). The female subject’s development of a “body awareness,” as explored in women personal narratives, forms a common denominator between the Arab and American female writers of this study. Similar to Ala’a Hassan’s (2020) narrative, Nicole Hardy (2020) is a single freelancer who lives alone and works mostly from home. With the imposed statewide stay-at-home orders since March 23rd, 2020, she discovered that she has already been living in quarantine. While she expresses that she loves living alone, the quarantine makes her distinguish between welcome solitude and crushing isolation (Hardy, 2020, para. 4). Hardy realized that the quarantine has offered her an unprecedented chance to reflect on her life, her romantic nature, and her need for love and company. She builds a new consciousness of her identity in which she recognizes a different relationship with her body. She demonstrates, “Alone in this pandemic, I feel anxious and fragile —two things I can’t stand. Loneliness lives in my body now. It’s a constant ache down my spine, across my shoulders and chest, up the tendons in my neck” (Hardy, 2020, para. 8). However, Hardy (2020) blames herself for thinking about love and bodily/womanly needs at this time of crisis, “Shame kicked in almost immediately, because who am I to be sad when so many people are in literal, mortal danger? When so many people have it so much worse” (para. 11). Her loneliness started to affect her psychological status and, subsequently, her linguistic techniques in writing. Obviously, Hardy (2020) is in a process of transformation to find a new self-identity. She was unable, before this crisis, to see through her physical, psychological, and emotional needs as a woman. Hardy’s personal narrative has shown a level of feminist awareness that she indirectly tries to voice out. She puts it in a humorous way saying, “To put my problems in perspective, I keep pulling up a Reductress story with the headline:‘It’s Sort of Like Being in Prison,’ Says Woman Eating Yogurt in Bed Who Also Has Voting Rights” (Hardy, 2020, para. 11). Moreover, her writing reveals a constant use of rhetorical wisdom, which one may consider a normal result of an abnormal social context. Evidences of such wisdom are: “splendid isolation” in Jim’s email, “There was no way to know how quickly a pandemic could turn welcome solitude into crushing situation”, “Now, that move seems both reckless and stupid”, “Perspective is everything”, and “Shame can walk like a pep talk” (Hardy, 2020, paras. 2–13). Ultimately, the quarantine has enabled Hardy (2020) to reflect on her female self-identity through her relationship with her inner self and her body.

Crisis and Self-Estrangement The expressive writing agency that is explored in these female personal narratives of crisis has enabled women, like Hardy, to understand her life and build a new self-consciousness. Similarly, writing has provided essayist and short story writer Jessica Mooney (2020) with a magnifying tool to examine the 249

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impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on her life. However, Mooney’s (2020) personal narrative fluctuates between subjective and objective voices that are saturated with doubt, fear, grief, and uncertainty about the future. As a writer and a health professional, Mooney (2020) is unable to delineate the personal within the social or political. While helping others to rationalize the pandemic, she feels powerless herself due to her loss of focus and critical thinking, inability to anticipate the close future, personal disequilibrium, and grief. Additionally, Mooney thinks that not having a daily routine increases negativity from which she suffers during the quarantine. She wrote, “It’s a career that is constantly challenging, full of surprises and never boring”; “I will never feel as I know enough”; and “I find myself unable to focus on what’s next” (Mooney, 2020, paras. 1–3). Here, she is swinging between the painful present and the dark future: “I am either stuck in the present or projecting myself into a future five or ten years from now” (para. 3). Finding herself in one stage of grief; denial, she struggles to find meaning of her personal life. While she briefly reflects on the personal, she expresses her self-estrangement in this crisis as: I find myself scrolling through old emails and photos, noting the time stamp, feeling a deep estrangement from my former self, a woman who was more cavalier with risks, a global health professional who knew this pandemic was inevitable yet didn’t see this coming. I am in mourning of my naivety. (Mooney, 2020, para. 4) Mooney (2020) has realized a stage of disconnection with the self that leads to grief. She finds in her memories of a pre-pandemic time a solace for the loss of meaning in present and the uncertainty of the future. “It is difficult to conceive of the future when we are currently living in a constant, amorphous present” (Mooney, 2020, para. 15). While uncertain about her “self” and the shape of the future, Mooney (2020) has developed a deep political consciousness about her society. Reiterating what Giroux (2020) discussed about the maladies of our societies under the yoke of capitalist and neoliberal politics, Mooney (2020) criticizes the American society for lacking a collective spirit. “Though we are more globally connected than ever, we in this country are not used to being asked to live in a collective spirit which honors this connection. We are living in a time of paradox” (para. 10). Mooney’s (2020,) political consciousness has led her to realize the pitfalls of the American society, while other women of different ethnicities and cultures have shared the same concerns with her.

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Writing of Crisis and Ethnic/Racial Positionality Although the above studied American women haven’t explicitly shown a racial or religious particularity of their personal experiences of crisis, they enunciate in their writings a liberal, educated, working class position that renders their experience of crisis as different as it is. Nevertheless, two American narratives have explicitly reflected on their ethnic and racial identities: A Filipina-American playwright and performer Sara Porkalob (2020), and an Asian-American teen photographer Sophia Chew (2020). Both voices express loss, fear, and anger in response to the current pandemic, but they are able to cope and find hope and new opportunities. Living in an all-female community, Porkalob (2020), who missed a Broadway opportunity because of the pandemic, believes in the power of writing and sharing stories. “I know that my work is integrally important to my happiness: If I’m not making and sharing stories, I am not myself. It’s a privilege that I enjoy what I do and that my home is a safe space” (Porkalob, 2020, para. 3). Although her aunt and grandmother are her source of power and support, she could see fear

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and anxiety in their eyes for the first time. “My fierce Dragon Lady, so ready to kick ass and eat men alive, was afraid” (Porkalob, 2020, para. 2). Porkalob’s (2020) subjective voice reflects a particular ethnic, racial, cultural, and political position. Her life story and the story of her experience with the pandemic are shaped by multi-faceted feminist position. While she admits that her work obsession is a symptom of capitalism, she believes in the power of her art and writing to make changes. The power of Porkalob’s (2020) narrative appears in her language and her critique of governmental policies and the Mayor’s Arts Recovery Package. She linguistically reveals her anger by using expletives and coarse language; a violation of the characteristics of female writing styles, as stated by Steiner (2014), in which women are socially expected to behave well and be polite. Similarly, Sophia Chew (2020) believes that her art of photography changes lives and creates opportunities for collaboration during the quarantine. Living the experience of school-closures, she felt conflicted and started to look for a reason to continue her personal growth. Therefore, she created an Instagram group of teenage photographers “surviving their coronacation through some photos” (para. 5). She thinks of the isolation as a chance to challenge herself creatively and states,

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“I began to observe similarities I share with people living on the other side of the world. At a time where I felt creatively blocked, I was inspired by the surge of creativity coming from young people in a time of limits and restrictions” (Chew, 2020, para. 3). The account has now 15 teens from Denmark, India, Canada, and the US, “helping each other cope through emotional support, and encouraging each other to become more vulnerable through our art” (Chew, 2020, para. 6). Chew (2020) believes that the experience of the quarantine can create a space of collaboration where young adults can have a voice about several current issues. Coming from an Asian descent, Chew found herself attached to the issue of racism that has escalated during the Coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Yet, her feeling of being a stranger did not stop her of being a game changer and a motivator as well. She concludes, “With cameras for eyes and photos for words, new creators are on the rise” (Chew, 2020, para. 7). Apparently, the ethnic, racial, cultural, and artistic position that Chew (2020) and Porkalob (2020) occupy has presented a different female subjectivity in response to crisis. These women speak of a collectivity that transcends the personal to the public. Mohanty (2003) argues that women of color and third world women write and speak “of a multiple consciousness, one located at the juncture of contests over the meanings of racism, colonialism, sexualities, and class, [and] is thus a crucial context for delineating Third World women’s engagement with feminisms” (p. 80). The personal narratives of these women represent the complexities of their lives in terms of gender, race, class, culture, and religion as situated with the larger histories of racism, capitalism, and imperialism. However, these women can easily build transnational coalitions across all divisions of race, culture, ethnicity, and class.

An Introvert in Quarantine: A New Subjective Voice While expressing a transnational voice, women present a new autobiographic subjectivity that asserts the power of personal narratives to reclaim lives. They find in their diverse literacy practices a means to cope with crisis, overcome pain, and discover the self. Trisha Kostis (2020) finds in her narrative a vindictive space to defend female introverts. As an introvert, Kostis (2020) welcomes the imposed quarantine of the Coronavirus pandemic as a familiar experience that she lives on daily basis. She finds in this isolation 251

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a chance to defend introverts all over the world. She states, “Introverts unite! It’s our time to show the social animals how to do self-isolation with panache” (Kostis, 2020, para. 2). Being an introvert is not a problem for Kostis as much as it is a problem for the people around her. She declares, “Social anxiety, aversion to people, fear of crowds, agoraphobia: call it what you will. There is a segment of the human population that feels most ‘normal’ in self-isolation as a lifestyle choice” (Kostis, 2020, para. 4). In this particular subjectivity, Kostis (2020) presents a different life perception of the pandemic crisis; one that promotes inclusion for introverts instead of their lifelong exclusion. Conversely, Kostis (2020) feels a sense of belonging in this isolation. “There is a certain comfort in knowing the entire human population is currently stuck at home. Where we usually feel like freaks, we are now just one of the crowd, the majority” (para. 6). Her linguistic use of the second-person pronoun indicates a try to show and convince the society of her social knowledge and belonging regardless the fact of being stigmatized as an introvert. While Kostis (2020) reflects on no change in her life as a consequence of the Coronavirus disease, it is this very normalcy that gives her personal voice the subjective uniqueness it attains.

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CONCLUSION As an instrumental voice, writing becomes a means of self-discovery, healing, and empowerment for the women in this study. This qualitative study indicates that writing is crucial in women’s lives. The female personal narratives are used to reclaim lives, discover self-identities, and build political consciousness. The transnational feminist approach and the sociolinguistic one that are utilized to help identify certain similarities and differences between diverse women of heterogeneous cultures, ethnicities, religions, social classes, and educational backgrounds. While the study specifically examines the gendered reactions of these women to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, it analyzes how each woman presents a female “herstory,” a second-wave feminist term first used by Robin Morgan, as situated within the gender, ethnic, racial, educational, religious, and economic exigencies of her life. The study answered the question on why women resort to writing as a literacy practice to respond to crisis, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build connections and coalitions. The study has examined a new autobiographic subjectivity adopted by these women to resist traditional norms of self-narratives. This new subjectivity has enabled the women in this study to cope with crisis and to discover their own identities. As a transnational feminist study, this research finds out that women of various ethnic, racial, cultural, social, educational, religious, and economic heterogeneous backgrounds create their own particular gendered reactions to crisis using the writing medium. However, they explore a larger sphere of social relations among women across cultural and national borders in which they respond to larger global hegemonies, like capitalism and neoliberalism, and transcend the personal to the political. This sphere is exposed in the similarities and differences between the Arab and American female voices in this study as they reflect on their life experiences during the COVID-19 global crisis. The women writers have revealed how writing helped them cope with isolation, discover their bodies, and build a new selfconsciousness. By examining the gendered impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women, the study reveals a tripartite relationship between crisis, gender, and writing. There are some limitations that are to be considered when interpreting the results. First, due to the nature of the research, the results cannot be generalized beyond the ten-sample works; as the sample does not represent the large size of the population in USA and the target Arab countries. Another limitation

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lies in the time period of COVID-19 quarantine during which the research was conducted. A consequent limitation is that the authors of the sample could not be interviewed to enrich this qualitative research. To fill the gaps in our findings, recommendations are provided for future research. A future research in analysis of literary works is highly recommended with a larger sample size. The small size of this research sample did not pose significant impact on overall effects of COVID-19. A more in-depth statistical analysis of literary works would be on interest with other genres of literary narratives. In future research, it is useful to apply a program of qualitative and quantitative text analysis module that explores more the most common emotion-related terms utilized in female personal narratives.

REFERENCES Abu Khalid, F. A. (2020, March 25). Fi mukawamet alvirus alqatel: men aljaeha ela tajdeed alalaka belmoheet walthat [Resisting the fatal virus: From the pandemic to renewing relationship with self and environment]. Al-Jazira, 17341. http://www.aljazirah.com/2020/20200701/ar2.htm AlBawwab, H. A. (2020, June 30). Fi alsijn alinferadi [In the solitary confinment]. Almajalla Alarabeyya, 526, 22–23. AlHajjouri, R. (2020, April 16). Fi aluzla, man nahnu? [In isolation: Who are we?]. Sada AlHijaz Newspaper. https://www.sadalhijaz.com/tfr/10620 AlRayes, H. (2020, June 30). nahnu ka’inat tuhb aluzla [We’re creatures who love isolation]. Almajalla Alarabeyya, 526, 38–39. Anzaldúa, G. E. (1999). Borderlands/La Frontera. Aunt Lute. Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (2000). Literacy practices. In D. Barton, M. Hamilton, & R. Ivanic (Eds.), Situated literacies: Reading and writing in context (pp. 7-15). Routledge. Bodrov, O. V., Zakirov, A. V., & Sharifzhanov, I. I. (2019). Sociocultural discourse analysis of the “New Left” in the USA by Tom Heyden: Linguistic characteristics and socio-cultural viewpoints. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 10(SP), 1228–1236.

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Chew, S. (2020, April 3). A teen photographer finds comfort through collaboration. Seattle Magazine. https://www.seattlemag.com/city-life/stories-seattle-teen-photographer-finds-comfort-through-collaboration De Fina, A., & Johnstone, B. (2015). Discourse analysis and narrative. In D. Tannen, H. E. Hamilton, & D. Schiffrin (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (2nd ed., Vol. 1). Wiley Blackwell. El Sa’adawi, N. (2006). The woman cause, ideology, and politics. Arabia for Publication. Gambaudo, S. (2017). Is there such a thing as ‘woman writing’? Angelaki, 22(1), 23–33. doi:10.1080/ 0969725X.2017.1285605 Gee, J. P. (2018). Introducing discourse analysis: From grammar to society. Routledge.

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Giroux, H. A. (2020, April 7). The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing the plague of neoliberalism. Truthout. https://truthout.org/articles/the-covid-19-pandemic-is-exposing-the-plague-of-neoliberalism/ Grewal, I., & Kaplan, C. (1994). Introduction. In I. Grewal & C. Kaplan (Eds.), Scattered hegemonies: Postmodernity and transnational feminist practices (pp. 1–35). University of Minnesota Press. Hardy, N. (2020, April 9). Living alone in a former sanatorium. Seattle Magazine. https://www.seattlemag.com/city-life/stories-seattle-living-alone-former-sanatorium Hassan, A. (2020, May 20). Asabee’ fi aluzla: alhajr almanzli bi’tibarhi fursa li’eaadat iktishaf aalami aldakhili w alaaqati bi jasadi [Weeks in isolation: Quarantine as a way to discover my inner self and my body]. Wlaha Wogoh Okhra. https://wlahawogohokhra.com/10356 Kostis, T. (2020, April 19). Introverts, it’s our time to shine! Seattle Magazine. https://www.seattlemag. com/city-life/stories-seattle-introvertsit%E2%80%99s-our-time-shine Lewis, H. (2020, March 19). The coronavirus is a disaster for feminism. The Atlantic. https://www. theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/feminism-womens-rights-coronavirus-covid19/608302/ MacGillivray, L., & Brenner, D. (2010). Introduction. In L. McGillivray (Ed.), Literacy in times of crisis: Practices and perspectives (pp. 1–5). Routledge. Mohanty, C. T. (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/9780822384649 Mooney, J. (2020, April 29). During this present pandemic, we are all mourning the future. Seattle Magazine. https://www.seattlemag.com/city-life/stories-seattle-during-present-pandemic-we-are-allmourning-future Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis: An introduction (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury. Porkalob, S. (2020, March 26). Playwright and performer Sara Porkalob on hope, anger, and her missed Broadway opportunity. Seattle Magazine. https://www.seattlemag.com/theater-city-life/stories-seattleplaywright-and-performer-sara-porkalob-hope-anger-and-her-missed Steiner, S. (2014). Gender, genre, and writing style in formal written texts [Doctoral dissertation, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek]. Google Scholar.

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Thornborrow, J. (2012). Narrative analysis. In J. P. Gee & M. Handford (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 51–65). Routledge. United Nations Women. (2020). How COVID-19 impacts women and girls. https://interactive.unwomen. org/multimedia/explainer/covid19/en/index.html World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) situation reports. https:// www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200227-sitrep-38-covid-19. pdf?sfvrsn=2db7a09b_4

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ADDITIONAL READING Albirini, A. (2015). Modern Arabic sociolinguistics: Diglossia, variation, codeswitching, attitudes and identity. Routledge. Anzaldúa, G., & Keating, A. (Eds.). (2002). This bridge we call home: Radical visions of transformation. Routledge. Bassiouney, R. (2020). Arabic sociolinguistics (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. doi:10.2307/j. ctv10kmbxg De Rycker, A., & Don, Z. M. (Eds.). (2013). Discourse and crisis: Critical perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing Company. doi:10.1075/dapsac.52 Farner, G. (2014). Literary fiction: The ways we read narrative literature. Bloomsbury Publishing. Grewal, I. (2005). Transnational America: Feminisms, diasporas, neoliberalisms. Duke University Press. Kaplan, C., & Grewal, I. (2005). An introduction to women’s studies: Gender in a transnational world (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. Vieten, U. M., Eranti, V., & Blokker, P. (2020). Thinking and writing in the time of pandemic COVID-19. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 7(2), 117–122. doi:10.1080/23254823.2020.17 54558

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS COVID-19: Also referred to as Coronavirus disease 2019, is a contagious respiratory disease that is transmitted through the air when people are physically close. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic in March 2020. Crisis: Is a difficult or instable turning point in a specific time. Crises are of different types: medical, like COVID-19; natural, like Tsunami; financial, like global financial crisis in 2007-2008; and technological, like the release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Discourse Analysis: Is a sociolinguistic approach that studies the meaning of the communicative text, whether written, vocal, or visual, in relation to its social context. It focuses on the language use and linguistic, social, and/or semiotic interpretation of different types of texts. Gendered Writing: Is a concept used to refer to writing as characterized and determined by the orientations and experiences of one biological sex as socially constructed to reflect a masculine-feminine or man-woman dichotomy instead of a male-female one. Heterogeneous: Is a concept that refers to a society or a group of people that is diverse in terms of its individuals’ different ethnicities, cultures, races, genders, and religions. Narrative: Is a literary term of a set of series of events, fictional or nonfictional. It takes a literary form of poetry, plays, and novels. Transnational Feminism: Is a theoretical approach that adopts a feminist paradigm to analyze how globalization, capitalism, imperialism, and the world structure affect people, especially women, across cultures, nations, races, classes, and religions.

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Chapter 14

An Intergenerational Divide: Political Rhetoric and Discourse in the Chinese American Community Lisa Lau Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter explores factors that infuence the current divisiveness in sociopolitical discourse and rhetoric in the Chinese American community and, in particular, the family unit. The fndings contribute to understanding the origins of ideological diferences that refect the polarization facing the U.S. at large. The author integrates her experience and knowledge of the community and draws on a range of literature on Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, and psychological theories to identify three themes that infuence the world views and modes of communication of many frst-generation Chinese Americans: an authoritarian orientation, a polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. Utilizing an autobiographical research approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography, the author captures the trauma of her parents growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution to bring awareness to disruptive events that shape cognitive processes that underlie the three themes and contribute to the current discordance in intergenerational discourse.

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INTRODUCTION The United States has become deeply polarized in recent years, characterized by economic and political fissures that have arisen alongside an authoritarian populist movement (Norris, 2016). This polarization represents a crisis that has deepened and opened an intergenerational chasm in the Chinese American community, whereby discourse has been marked by the same divisive rhetoric that has engulfed the national conversation (Linthicum, 2016; Rong, 2019). One may find first-generation Chinese Americans advocating for strict adherence to immigration laws, while younger Chinese Americans objecting to the use of racialized rhetoric around illegal immigration (Linthicum, 2016). Holding differing sociopolitical views is not surprising in and of itself because each generation applies its own unique experiences to evaluate DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch014

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issues. However, rhetoric propagated by a far-right strand of modern American politics, characterized by anti-socialist, nativist, and authoritarian ideologies, has exacerbated this ideological fissure to create deep discordance in Chinese American communities (Rong, 2019; Roose, 2020; Zhou, 2020). Examining the discourse around such rhetoric reveals unique characteristics in the Chinese American community that, the author observes, has impaired intergenerational communication and family relationships. For this chapter, “first-generation” specifically refers to Chinese immigrants who came to the United States around, or shortly after, the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s-80s; “second-generation” refers to the first-generation’s children who were born in the United States or arrived as children. The author postulates three themes that contribute to intergenerational discord. First, many in the first-generation tend to possess an authoritarian orientation that emphasizes respect for authority and hierarchy, especially within the family, and a Confucian-steeped communication pattern that was deepened by Communist ideology. Second, the formation of group identities engendered under repressive regimes may contribute to many first-generation members embracing polarized thinking. Third, the first-generation has a “national origin orientation” in which they apply their understanding of political and social structures from China to the U.S. context so that they may not fully understand the complexity of current events. These three themes reinforce each other to influence rhetoric and create friction in discourse within Chinese American families. The author positions her family in a historical context to bring awareness to traumatic events that may underlie the discordance in intergenerational discourse that is the subject of examination in the chapter. The author’s parents immigrated to the United States as refugees in 1978 and settled in New York City’s Chinatown, where the author was born and raised. Subsequently, the author’s entire clan immigrated from China—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The author seeks to make sense of the sociopolitical discourse within her family that reflects a larger pattern in Chinese American intergenerational discourse, such that the inability to bridge perspectives and build dialogue have sown frustration and resentment in families. This chapter’s contribution is the application of the three-theme framework to bring clarity and understanding to such rhetoric and discourse in the Chinese American community.

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Theoretical Perspectives This chapter uses an analytical framework that includes a “culture-inclusive theory of Chinese authoritarian orientation” (Chien, 2016, p.1), sociolinguistics, and psychological theories on repression and polarization in authoritarian regimes. Together, these theories underpin the author’s three themes that shape intergenerational discourse. The first theme, authoritarian orientation, is based on various studies that point to the Confucian prioritization of family hierarchy, which is a cornerstone of Chinese culture (Chien, 2016; Ma & Yang, 2014). This theme also draws on the sociolinguistic work from cognitive psychologist Lera Boroditsky (2011) and behavioral economist Keith Chen (2013), who discuss how speech shapes the way we see the world. Finally, this theme links psychological theories presented by Dr. Harry B. Friedgood (1951), of the University of California, Los Angeles, who studied the psychological forces that led Soviet populations to embrace authoritarian elements in society. The author utilizes Friedgood’s findings to understand how the CCP shaped the first-generation’s psyche to reinforce their authoritarian orientation. The chapter’s second theme, on the psychology of polarization, is based on Elizabeth R. Nugent’s (2018) study that focuses on how repressive regimes in Egypt and Tunisia conditioned various levels of polarization in the population that influenced the countries’ potential democratic transitions. The 257

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author applies concepts from Nugent’s study to illuminate the development of the polarized psyches of the first-generation who grew up under China’s repressive regime. The chapter’s first two themes establish the psychological infrastructure of the first-generation that primes their engagement in American political discourse; it is in this discourse that intergenerational tensions become most evident. For the third theme, the author posits that the first-generation’s participation in political discourse is manifested through what she terms as a national origin orientation. This orientation captures the propensity of first-generation members to apply the sociopolitical norms and structures in China to the U.S. context in a way that leads them to overlook cultural and legal nuances in the American system and limits them from forming a more comprehensive understanding of U.S.-based issue. These three themes intersect to influence the dynamic of intergenerational dialogue in Chinese American communities.

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Methodology: An Autobiographical Approach The empirical inquiry of the chapter is to understand what factors contribute to polarized intergenerational political discourse in the Chinese American community. In order to bring in the author’s experience and knowledge as a member of the Chinese American community, the author uses an autobiographical research method that combines phenomenology and autoethnography. The author specifically draws from her family’s background and her lifetime experience in intergenerational discourse as a close witness to enable her to discern behavioral, cultural and social patterns to provide a deep analysis on the topic. Here, the author specifies how phenomenology is integrated as a research approach and uses autoethnography as the data collection and analysis process to formulate the three themes on intergenerational polarization. Phenomenology is a qualitative research method that focuses on studying an individual’s lived experiences (Neubauer, Witkop, & Varpio, 2019). Such use of lived experiences has enabled social policies to emphasize the importance of subjective experiences in relation to empirical inquiry (Neale, 2018; Wright, 2016, as cited in McIntosh & Wright 2018). Since intergenerational discourse can be shaped by the uniqueness of each individual and family, phenomenology allowed the author to map out behavioral trends to achieve a broader understanding on how those trends inform the phenomenon of intergeneration polarization. The author draws on lived experiences from two dimensions—the first-generation’s experiences of living under the CCP and the author’s experience as a second-generation Chinese American navigating the phenomenon. Autoethnography seeks to describe and systematically analyze personal experience (auto) in order to understand cultural experience (ethno) (Ellis, 2004; Holman Jones, 2005, as cited in Ellis, 2011). Autoethnography allows researchers to become an element of the phenomenon researched in order to give voice to personal experiences with the purpose of extending sociological understanding (Walls, 2008). Therefore, in conjunction with documenting lived experiences, the author utilizes autoethnography to bring in her personal experiences and observations that stem from interactions from being part of the Chinese American community. In the chapter’s background section, the author documents her parents living through the Chinese Communist Revolution, an experience shared by the first-generation Chinese Americans. As a tool of phenomenology, documenting this lived experience provides a window into psychological factors that may underly the phenomenon. Throughout the chapter, the author also offers her rich lived experience to provide a narrative on communication patterns in Chinese families. These experiences are the bedrock on which the themes are built. 258

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BACKGROUND

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Born Into Chaos: First-Generation Chinese American Immigrants The author’s parents grew up in sociopolitical chaos—they were born during the Chinese Communist Revolution that resulted in the CCP taking over and establishing the People’s Republic of China in 1949. When they were of school age, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) to reorganize the country’s population into rural communes to accelerate China’s modernization as an industrialized country. This poorly executed economic and social program led to the Great Chinese Famine, which resulted in 16.5 to 45 million deaths. The famine is one of the worst catastrophes in China’s history and may arguably be the biggest mass murder in world history (Somin, 2016). As teenagers, the author’s parents lived through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966– 1976), which Mao launched to revive and preserve Chinese Communist ideology. Schools were closed to mobilize students to become Red Guards to implement the revolution and to weed out and destroy the “Four Olds”—old ideas, customs, habits, and culture. As part of the revolution, millions of young people and people labeled as “bourgeois intellectuals” were sent to the countryside to be reeducated through physical labor (Phillips, 2016). The author’s parents and others of that generation suffered chaos and witnessed atrocities that would have had immeasurable psychological effects on them. Schools eventually reopened, but the author’s parents, like many others, decided to flee the country. For them, living under the CCP was not a worthy future for their children. In the process of fleeing China, the author’s parents were caught and imprisoned, and only successfully escaped to Hong Kong (HK) in their third attempt. Each attempt was a year apart, having planned to make the trek in the winter when soldiers were less likely to closely patrol the terrain. On the third attempt, they made their way to Macao along the South China Sea coastline, partly swimming and partly floating on a handmade float that eventually disintegrated in the water. Many peers who tried the same trek did not succeed—some were victims of sharks that were a common sight in the South China Sea. After reaching Macao’s shores, the author’s parents hid in a fishing boat and were smuggled to HK. Once in HK, they acquired various jobs until they were approved to immigrate to the United States. Three years later, with a child due in a month, they arrived and settled in New York City’s Chinatown as political refugees. The author’s parents represent a generation of immigrants who experienced immense turmoil with a curtailed education. They left China at the end of its most turbulent time. Because they were young, the turmoil would have immeasurably impacted their emotional and cognitive development that would trigger certain behavior and reactions that are marked by cognitive dissonance as adults (Friedgood, 1951). In a qualitative study, Plänkers (2011) interviewed survivors of the Cultural Revolution who described traumatic childhoods and showed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These life traumas are significant for understanding how the first-generation respond to and see the world differently from their children, who were raised in the United States.

A Depiction of Family Dialogue: Communication Breakdown According to the author’s knowledge of the Chinese American community, intergenerational discourse is often stymied when the first-generation is not willing to incorporate the inputs of the generation born and educated in the United States into their analyses of sociopolitical issues. First-generation members 259

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often state opinions as if they were immutable facts. It is also common for first-generation members to shut down discussions by raising their voices and talking over the younger generation. Even though they highly value education for their children, they view their children’s voices as just that— their children’s. The first-generation’s rhetoric on sociopolitical topics has become increasingly bombastic and divisive in recent years, mirroring far-right rhetoric in U.S. politics (Carlson, 2018; Roose, 2020). The author has observed that the first-generation tend to draw absolutes, describing people as good or bad, legal or illegal, and loyal or disloyal. Many dismiss those who do not agree with their perspectives as defending lies (spun by liberals and the CCP). Limited by their English language abilities, first-generation members often use WeChat as their main news source, where members share Chinese-language blogs that often do not use reliable sources and repeat the misinformation and hyperbolic language that they encounter from this digital space. According to Wang (2017), such online political discourse has highlighted “generational fault lines that exist within the Chinese American community, where political divisions “separate first-generation immigrants from the second-generation born in the United States.” (para. 9)

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THEME 1: AUTHORITARIAN ORIENTATION Authoritarian orientation is a theoretical construct for describing and understanding Chinese personalities and social behaviors that emphasizes respect for authority and hierarchy to maintain social harmony (Chien, 2016). The authoritarian orientation is grounded in Confucian philosophy and has shaped familial interactions by placing a high value on reverence and obedience according to the family birth order. Familial hierarchy is built into the Chinese language structure itself, with a codified appellation system to address family members. As China’s principal political philosophy before the CCP’s establishment, Confucianism became a template for rulers and emperors to support social hierarchy and autocratic rule (Greenway, 2020). Subsequently, the CCP’s top-down regime structure that demands blind allegiance has deepened the authoritarian orientation. For the first-generation, living under an authoritarian system, reinforced by a cultural compass to respect authority and hierarchy, would have irreparable psychological impacts on critical and independent thinking. Analyzing the authoritarian orientation as the foundation of family interaction offers a way to understand potential factors that polarize intergenerational discourse. In general, Chinese intergenerational discourse is rarely a two-way conversation—a feature that, as observed by the author, has been exacerbated by the polarizing political rhetoric occurring in the larger national conversation. Discourse in the author’s family is often characterized by the second-generation duly addressing an elder’s title and often rendering sufficient praise and recognizing hardships faced by the first-generation before entering a discussion. This customary manner of addressing the first-generation already positions the speaker as possessing less experience and wisdom. Once the second-generation offer their ideas, the first-generation rarely integrates the provided information into discourse. Instead, the first-generation may praise the education and studies of the second-generation, thank them for generously offering new information, and then restate and reaffirm their original arguments. When discussions become heated, challenging the first-generation is implicitly discouraged to maintain harmony and respect for the family hierarchy. Such authoritarian-oriented communication patterns constrict the consideration and discussion of more complex issues.

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Respect for Hierarchy Embedded in Confucian Traditions Confucianism in China became an ideology imposed to instill obedience to authority (Berling, n.d.). Based on a system of interdependent relationships, power and obedience were structured from the family level to the national level. Chinese people were embedded in five principal relationships from birth to death, including four vertical relationships between ruler-subordinate, father-son, husband-wife, and older brother-younger brother, and one horizontal relationship from friend-friend (Chien, 2013, as cited in Chien, 2016). Confucius believed that moral behavior stemmed from the fulfillment of these traditional roles (Berling, n.d.). As a result, Chinese culture tends to value upholding these relationships and giving reverence according to age and authority, which contributes to shaping intergenerational interactions. In China, a family is a social unit that represents an entire codified ideology that pervaded the state and society for thousands of years (Teon, 2016). The Chinese proverb, “Of all virtues, filial piety comes first” (百善孝為先 bǎi shàn xiào wèi xiān) demonstrates the importance of filial duty in Chinese families (Teon, 2016). The preeminence of filial duty has reinforced a listening-centered versus speaking-centered communication between generations. Speaking is traditionally associated with seniority (Fang, 2014). In Chinese culture, good children are the ones who “listen talks” (tinghua), versus bad children who do not listen-talk (butinghua). According to the author, many second-generation members also, like their parents, frequently use the term “listen talk” in the child-rearing process. This points to the strength of adhering to traditional communication patterns that shape interactions in Chinese American families over generations.

Respect for Hierarchy Embedded in the Chinese Language

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According to the cognitive psychologist Lera Boroditsky, languages profoundly shape the way people think and see the world. Language creates habits and patterns of thought (Boroditsky, 2011). The Chinese appellation system supports this theory as it structurally reflects the relationship between speakers that reveals the importance of respect for hierarchy in Chinese culture. Chinese appellations are divided into kinship and non-kinship, distinguishing between junior and senior, paternal and maternal, and blood and marital relations (Hills Learning, 2011). Every family member addresses each other strictly according to their kinship. Therefore, family hierarchy is built into the Chinese language that forces the speaker to be conscious of where they stand in the family order when entering a conversation or interaction. Keith Chen, a behavioral economist at Yale, illustrates this concept in a Ted Talk: Suppose[…]I was introducing you to my uncle[…]What my language would have forced me to do, instead of just telling you, “This is my uncle,” is to tell you a tremendous amount of additional information. My language would force me to tell you whether or not this was an uncle on my mother’s side or my father’s side, whether this was an uncle by marriage or by birth, and if this man was my father’s brother, whether he was older than or younger than my father. All of this information is obligatory. Chinese doesn’t let me ignore it. And in fact, if I want to speak correctly, Chinese forces me to constantly think about it. (Chen, 2013) Another example of the Chinese language revealing its cultural value on respecting family hierarchy is the commonly used word for ‘filial piety’: xiao (孝). This word entails a strong loyalty and deference to one’s parents, ancestors, and by extension, the country and its leaders (Teon, 2016). Other Chinese 261

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words that mean loyal exist, such as zhong cheng (忠诚) or zhong shi (忠实). However, xiao specifically encompasses the sentiment of loyalty that is expected of children to their parents. In fact, the meaning of xiao is represented in how it is written, where the Chinese character combines the character for ‘old’, or lao (老), and ‘son’, or er zi (儿子). ‘Old,’ representing the father, forms the top half of xiao, and ‘son’ forms the bottom half of xiao. The character symbolizes the son or the younger generation carrying or supporting the older generation (Mack, 2019). Traditional Chinese parents often use xiao as the utmost praise to describe each other’s children (Teon, 2016). As a testament to xiao’s enduring legacy, the second-generation often subconsciously adheres to xiao by tempering or overriding their individual desires to challenge their parents’ authority so that family harmony is maintained. Therefore, the Chinese appellation system and concept of filial piety demonstrate how language and culture are inextricably intertwined to influence intergenerational discourse.

The Deepening of Authoritarian Orientation Through Communist Ideology

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For over 2000 years, rulers and emperors used Confucianism to justify autocratic rule, where the principles of social harmony ensured hierarchical relationships under a single authority (Greenway, 2020). It is under this entrenched political tradition that the CCP came into power. Mao governed like a divine emperor whose thoughts had to be learned by rote and revered like a classic Confucian text (Buruma, 2019). He replaced family loyalty with Party loyalty, which deepened the authoritarian orientation that existed in Chinese culture. The Party emerging to control all aspects of spiritual and intellectual life became the premise of the first-generation’s livelihood. Friedgood (1951) studied why populations under the former Soviet Union ended up displaying fascist leanings that prevent democratic systems from being established. He offered psychological theories on the unconscious memory fragments of infantile experiences that lead people to irrationally subscribe to authoritarian leaders and behaviors. Friedgood explained that when chaos abounds, “the child may instinctively seek to allay their insecurity by continuing his original identification with, and dependence upon, the external source of imposed authority” (Friedgood, 1951, p. 435). Such psychological impact observed in the former Soviet population may offer insights into the psyche of the author’s parents and those of their generation who were only toddlers in the advent of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Under Mao, the CCP took measures to reapply the commitment to the family hierarchy to a new hierarchical authority to attain social order. Mirroring this social order, many first-generation members’ respect for authority and hierarchy has transformed into an allegiance to President Trump, who, according to historians, displays authoritarian tendencies (Kellner, 2018, Kroll, 2019, Roose, 2020). Growing up under an all-powerful authority may have preconditioned many in the first-generation to, paradoxically, uphold the values of an authoritarian regime. Friedgood (1951) described populations in Soviet society: Individuals who witnessed at first hand the evolution of the program of deceit in the USSR [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics], nevertheless act as its blind agents for their own destruction. It is as though they had lent themselves to Soviet hypnosis, and in a witless trance were obeying automatically the Politburo’s commands to destroy their own most precious possessions—liberty, security, and the pursuit of happiness. (p. 432) The paradox that Friedgood describes can arguably be applied to many in the first-generation who display preference for strongmen figures (Linthicum, 2016, Yuan, 2019). Favoring views of a hierarchical 262

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authority has potentially led many to dismiss the sociopolitical views and concerns of the second-generation. The author observes that many first-generation members use aggressive prose and inflammatory rhetoric to deflect from integrating new information to discussions, and even to shut down debate. According to Friedgood (1951), environments that produce fear and insecurity impede a child’s development so that they become fixed at a premature point in the maturation process. The author posits that growing up under the CCP may have anchored a subconscious mode of seeing and reacting to the world through an authoritarian lens, limiting how many first-generation members process and communicate information.

Summary Authoritarian orientations emphasize an unequal social relationship between youth and elders, and government and people, as well as the discouragement of behavior that challenge authority (Ma & Yang, 2014). Studies have demonstrated that, even under modernization or globalization, the authoritarian orientation is still ubiquitous in contemporary Chinese societies (Chien, 2013, as cited in Chien, 2016). In other countries grounded in Confucian traditions, such as Korea and Japan, the authoritarian orientations persist even after their political systems have democratized and their social structures have modernized (Ma & Yang, 2014). For the first-generation, the cultural imperative to respect the hierarchy of authority is compounded by the psychological impact of communism that engenders an irresistible need to identify with and submit to a supreme power and authority. Friedgood observed that “the fundamental contradiction between the unconscious need for submission to authority and the impulse to escape from it can never be eliminated” (Friedgood, 1951, p. 439). Therefore, it may appear that the authoritarian orientation contributes to the one-way hierarchical conversation pattern that inhibits the productive engagement in intergenerational discourse.

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THEME 2: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE POLARIZED MIND Suffering under communism is still at the forefront of many first-generation’s psyche. Therefore, many have consolidated around a sociopolitical identity that congeals around a shared stance against the CCP and a disdain for any perceived socialist sympathizers and elements in society (Roose, 2020; Xing, 2020; Yuan, 2019). Well-funded Chinese-language news medium has also created an information ecosystem that supports hardline US-based policies that are perceived to dismantle the CCP (Roose, 2020). By identifying and solidifying around an opposition, the first-generation has found alignment with people who espouse nativist ideologies and authoritarian tendencies, to which they were previously unassociated (Roose, 2020). Political rhetoric in national discourse that demonizes others and gin up fear and prejudice is often mirrored in Chinese WeChat groups and has created friction in intergenerational dialogue (Rong, 2019; Zhang 2017). Drawing on psychological theories of social identity, the author posits that the first-generation’s experience under repression has created an archetypal survival tendency to form a group identity against a perceived opposition. This section explores how many first-generation members may have formed a polarized mindset that has aligned their views with the modern American far-right, which stands in stark contrast to the views of the more progressive second-generation.

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Group Identity Formation and Polarization for the First-Generation A foundation of social-psychological literature indicates that the context from where group identities emerge is an important factor in how individuals see, position, and differentiate themselves to others (Nugent, 2018). Authoritarian contexts, in particular, create the conditions for heightened group differentiation that drives polarizing behavior in the population. Nugent (2018) studied how repressive regimes in Tunisia and Egypt used various repressive strategies to increase the populations’ level of in-group and out-group identifications (Nugent, 2018). According to Nugent, regime repression is most effective when it divides opposition actors and pits them against each other. This was seen when Mao mobilized students, called Red Guards, to root out the “Four Olds” and dissenters to communist ideologies, often through violent means (Plänkers, 2011). The CCP regularly employs a variety of coercive measures of suppression, censorship, and imprisonment to maintain control of its populace. Regimes using such repressive tactics against actors challenging their beliefs, institutions, and actions can effectively shape the level of polarization in society by enhancing group identity and group differentiation (Nugent, 2018). Drawing from Nugent’s (2018) study, the author posits that the first-generation’s collective experience of repression has impacted how they identify and differentiate themselves in the United States. Compared to the second-generation who did not live under a repressive regime, the first-generation still lives with the memory of communism and perceives the CCP as a real threat. Lived political experiences are, therefore, “the basis for translating structural conditions, institutional norms, and ideologies into political preferences” (Nugent, 2018). According to Nugent, “identities are not primarily about adherence to a group ideology or creed. They are emotional attachments that transcend thinking.” (p. 2). Thus, the first-generation’s consolidation around the CCP as an ever present enemy has driven them to embrace those who advocate for anti-CCP and anti-socialist policies, along with the right-wing rhetoric espoused by the same people who are now perceived to be the in-group (Roose, 2020). The in-group bonding is then reinforced with the media and divisive political rhetoric that makes it difficult for the first-generation to receive new information from a perceived out-group, even if it is their children.

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The Alignment With the American Far-Right Although the first-generation has instilled the value of education to achieve upward mobility in the United States, many have increasingly cast disdain on the academic institutions in which their children have been educated. Having formed their in-group identity in opposition to the perceived threats of communism and discordant social forces, many see selective higher education institutions as bastions of left-wing liberalism that are intolerant of conservative views on the right. This perception is in line with a strand of right-wing rhetoric that has actively minimized the value of a liberal education. Many conservative organizations and media have promoted the notion that campuses are inhospitable for conservatives (Pinsker, 2019). There is also a trend of dismissing experts and credentialed knowledge that has solidified a disdain for higher education amongst a segment of Republican voters (Pinsker, 2019). Therefore, along with national rhetoric that pits liberals against conservatives, it is common for the first-generation to use the term baizuo (白左), which means “White Left.” This derogatory political epithet has been used by the first-generation to describe what they see as Western leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people who influence their children on college campuses (Zhang, 2017). According to Chenchen Zhang, a political scientist, baizuo is used generally to describe those who only care about immigration, minority groups, LGBT, and the environment, and have no sense of real-world 264

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problems. They are also obsessed with political correctness and believe in the welfare state that benefits only the lazy (Zhang, 2017). According to interviews with Chinese supporters of President Trump, the first-generation appreciates his disdain for the “pieties” of the educated American left” (Carlson, 2018), of which describes the out-group that the second-generation has often been deemed a part. The first-generation has consolidated a group identity based on their shared suffering and unyielding stance against communist ideologies. The American far-right has come to symbolize a collective grievance and archetypal need for a political opposition that resonates with the first-generation. As this group identity strengthens, polarization increases, and “in-group members become less tolerant of out-group members” (Nugent, 2018, p. 6). For example, the first-generation often uses baizuo to discredit and shut down opponents in online debates (Zhang, 2017). This notion that the second-generation has become part of the baizuo out-group has increasingly made dialogue difficult, where conversations, as observed by the author, are often fraught by political rhetoric and not by information and relationship building.

Summary According to social identity theories, individuals constantly seek to maximize differences between their in-group and the out-group in order to reduce cognitive dissonance; and this strengthened in-group identity necessarily induces comparatively higher levels of group differentiation (Nugent, 2018). As a result, the first-generation’s adherence to their group identity and consumption of far-right rhetoric (Roose, 2020) has created an ideological disconnect that many second-generation Chinese struggle to understand and reconcile. Many first-generation members who had advocated for human rights in China are now cheering an administration that wants to make it harder for migrants fleeing persecution to find sanctuary in the United States (Yuan, 2019), as they did. Some, such as the author’s parents, were once imprisoned for their ideals, but are now “putting their hopes in a president who openly admires autocrats and calls journalists the enemy of the people” (Yuan, 2019, para 13). According to Nugent, the formation of polarization is grounded in psychological processes through which “beliefs and evaluations emerge from and are updated by linkages between what people experience and what they feel, creating an equilibrium between brain, body, and world” (Nugent, 2018, p. 8). Therefore, understanding the first-generation’s repressive experiences and the psychological processes that shape in- and out-group identities may contribute to a level of compassion that is needed during a politically divisive era.

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THEME 3: A NATIONAL ORIGIN ORIENTATION First-generation and second-generation Chinese Americans tend to see fairness and justice in sharply different ways based on how they arrive to understanding sociopolitical structures in the United States (Rong, 2019). According to the author’s experience and observations, it is common for the first-generation to apply the social norms and understanding of governance from China to the U.S. system, so that they may not fully appreciate the nuances that underlie the U.S. democratic system to analyze certain national issues. The author calls this tendency of using the lens of one’s original home country to analyze issues in the new country, a “national origin orientation.” Respecting a strongman, maintaining law and order, mingling family and business, and scorning political correctness are a few hallmarks of Chinese sociopolitical culture that are often applied by the first-generation to understand how the U.S. democratic system functions. Although having a national origin orientation may not be unique to Chinese immigrants, the 265

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author applies the concept to this group in this chapter. The first two themes on authoritarian orientation and the psychology of polarization lay the foundation for this third theme. In other words, the national origin orientation is the manifestation of the previous two themes—it frames how the first-generation experiences American politics and how political rhetoric is used to drive a wedge on issues that both sides deeply care about.

Respect for the Strongman The strongman leadership style defines China’s historical and political culture. According to Carlson (2018), Qin Shi Huang, revered for being China’s founding emperor by uniting the nation, was infamous for burning books and burying scholars alive during his reign. Mao wielded control over the country by spurring violent campaigns against intellectuals and dissidents. Xi Jinping consolidated his political power as China’s president for life and has, in effect, suppressed any national debate on his legitimacy (Carlson, 2018). Thus, unifying the country under one strongman leader is an entrenched pattern in Chinese history that may be embedded in the first-generation’s understanding of how societies are governed to maintain social order—this notion forms part of their national origin orientation. Many in the first-generation who suffered under Mao and who are highly critical of the CCP admire the strongman leadership of President Trump. According to many historians and scholars, the language that Trump uses, such as likening political opponents to spies and calling for opponents to be jailed, is often associated with autocrats or would-be autocrats (Kroll, 2019). However, “the Chinese like a strong leader,” said Zhaoyin Feng, a reporter with the HK-based Initium Media, who has covered Chinese American support for Trump (Linthicum, 2016, para. 9). Trump’s language and rhetoric, although alarming for many in the second-generation, are not problematic for many in the first-generation (Linthicum, 2016). Another first-generation interviewee praised: “Trump’s approach is that he gives you a task, and he expects you to get it done. Otherwise, you’re fired,” he said, alluding to the President’s former reality show, The Apprentice. “He can be very tough” (Yuan, 2019). As reported by Carlson (2018), Trump’s nationalist rhetoric and strongman style resonate in China’s political culture. Thus, the author posits that while the first-generation’s authoritarian orientation leads them to respect and condone a leader who exhibits authoritarian qualities, the national origin orientation leads many to find strongman leadership, which has shaped governance in China, appealing as a way to govern in the United States.

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Law and Order The first-generation respects a strongman who is decisive and unapologetic, especially on policies and rhetoric that surround law and order. Chinese society has traditionally been governed by “the rule by man” rather than by the “rule of law” (Fang, 2014). In the United States, the rule of law points to the principle that laws should apply equally to everyone and that all people on U.S. soil, regardless of legal residency and citizenship status, are entitled to due process protections (American Bar Association, n.d.). On the other hand, rule by man, although a complex notion that has its own historical context in China, denotes the idea that laws are adapted to suit the needs of a ruler and connotes tyrannical rule that gives reign to autocratic power (Jenco, 2010). Chinese scholars have called this concept the “rule by law” that forms the premise of authoritarian governments to use law and order tactics (Dorf, 2016). Law and order tactics appeal to the first-generation’s understanding of the government’s role as they knew it in China, where the CCP restricts civil liberties to maintain social order. However, according to 266

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Smith (2018), law and order politics are not about the law; rather, they are about order. In fact, law and order regularly entail government officials breaking the law (Smith, 2018). Through the national origin orientation, the first-generation often calls for law and order in absolute terms to resolve complex social and legal issues in the United States (Liu, 2016). Based on conversations with the author’s family, many first-generation members dismissed the event on May 30, 2020, when federal agents used tear gas and pepper spray to clear peaceful protesters from a park near the White House. Although squelching dissent in this way violates U.S. First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly and is reminiscent of authoritarian tactics (Choi, 2020), it may affirm the first-generation’s understanding of the government’s role to control social chaos. One policy issue that the first-generation vigorously calls for applying law and order is on illegal immigration. At a Chinese Americans-for-Trump demonstration, which was largely composed of firstgeneration Chinese Americans, one supporter explained that immigration was one of her biggest concerns and held up a sign saying, “Support Trump, Keep Law and Order” (Liu, 2016). Trump has argued, “When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order” (Smith, 2018, para. 1). Various commentators noted that eliminating “Judges” and “Court Cases” would violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee to due process (Smith, 2018). Nevertheless, many first-generation members praise Trump’s unyielding and staunch immigration stance (Linthicum, 2016; Turque, 2017; Wang 2018). It may be possible that the first-generation’s national origin orientation obfuscates them from understanding the difference and nuance between governing by the rule of man, to which they are accustomed, versus the rule of law, which grounds the American legal system.

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Guanxi The Chinese live and work by a culture based on relations, personal connections, and reciprocal obligations. This Chinese concept of guanxi (关系) lays the foundation for trusted communication networks to be built within in-group members (Yang, 1994). Although guanxi is built on several bases, such as the school and workplace, the strongest base is family (Chen, 2001; Luo, 2000, as cited in Fang & Faure, 2010). Guanxi is central to the Confucian ethos and influences how many first-generation members see how business and governance relationships are formed in the United States. Many in the first-generation do not consider the legality of blurring the lines between family, business, and policymaking in the United States because it is common practice in China (Carlson, 2018; Fan, 2017). For example, many admire Trump’s business acumen and knack for deal-making (Hernandez & Zhao, 2017). However, President Trump’s business ownership during office has invoked possible violations of the U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments clauses that limit such activities of a president to prevent corruption. Nepotism is also a form of guanxi in China that would hardly raise eyebrows (Fan, 2017). By contrast, in the United States, the 1967 Federal Anti-Nepotism statute prohibits federal officials from appointing immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet (U.S. House of Representatives, n.d.). However, due to their national origin orientation, many in the first-generation do not see any problems with Trump placing his children in strategic positions within his presidential administration. In fact, Fan (2017) states:

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In the Chinese media, Jared Kushner’s name almost never appears without the title diyi nǚxu, or First Son-in-Law. From a Chinese perspective, First Son-in-Law, as a job description, supersedes even Kushner’s official role as a senior adviser to Donald Trump. (para. 1) For President Trump, the interplay of guanxi is his modus operandi. Similar to the Chinese, personal relationships, especially family-based, matter immensely to Trump (Adams, 2020). By elevating his family members to political power, concerns have been raised for breaching protocol and security clearance (Adams, 2010, Dorf 2016). Unlike other presidencies, Trump’s children serve as his primary gatekeepers at the White House, where those with personal connections to the Trump family are more likely to find a receptive audience (Adams, 2010). Such use of guanxi in the American context feels familiar to the first-generation Chinese and forms a part of their national origin orientation. Exchanging favors and interpersonal trust are mutually reinforced in the sphere of guanxi. Kushner’s family entered into the boundaries of guanxi in China when his sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer told a group of potential investors for a new luxury development project that their support would mean a lot to her family (Fan, 2017). The Western media sharply criticized that remark (Fan, 2017). However, Chinese bloggers viewed the episode differently. One Shanghai college student wrote, “The Kushners are enterprising, and the White House is now a family business – what’s the fuss?” Another middle-aged Chinese man commented, “The seat of power is always a family business, but for the first time the White House is also a billionaires’ social club!” (Fan, 2017, para. 3). Utilizing one’s connections in the United States, although not unusual, breaks many unspoken and some explicit rules regarding what public figures should or should not do or say. However, the first-generation’s national origin orientation limits their ability to see the nuanced layers in American culture and institutions, so that they apply certain Chinese customs to interpret inappropriate and illegal actions in the United States as acceptable.

Scorning Political Correctness Being politically correct is not a feature in Chinese society (Linthicum, 2016).

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Chinese people are known to be startlingly frank in private conversation, voicing opinions that many Americans would be afraid to express to one another for fear of giving offense. People remark casually and candidly on everything from a person’s weight gain or disability to the supposed collective merits or deficiencies of certain ethnic groups. (Carlson, 2018, para. 16) Not needing to couch what one says to protect someone’s feelings marks communication patterns in Chinese culture and forms a part of the first-generation’s national origin orientation towards political correctness in the United States. Consequently, the first-generation is not bothered by Trump’s vulgar use of words to describe people, and many admire him for speaking his mind (Carlson, 2018). He has been praised as a ‘loudmouth’ (Linthicum 2016) and as someone who ‘tells it like it is’ (Rong, 2019). Many Chinese idealize free speech in the United States and view it in absolute terms, such that anyone should be able to say whatever they want, including the president. Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” set off an intergenerational debate. Many first-generation members believe that Trump is right because COVID-19 originated in China (Xing, 2020; Zhou, 2020). Some, such as the author’s parents, believe that Trump is using the term to purposefully single out the CCP, which they want toppled. In an article in the World Crunch, a Wall Street employee and a Shanghai native supported Trump’s claim: 268

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“The whole world is in such a mess, and it’s China’s fault. The authorities concealed information and the origin of the virus” (Xing, 2020, para. 12). However, many in the second-generation believe that saying the “Chinese Virus” is racist, especially given the larger context of the President using racial and discriminatory language (Zhou, 2020). When the author pointed out to her family the rise of violence against Asian Americans after Trump using this term, many first-generation members showed temporary concern and then dismissed the violence as the result of media distortion and the public’s intolerance over not being politically correct. Many Chinese possess a revulsion and hostility toward political correctness in Western society (Hernández & Zhao, 2017). This scorn for political correctness is, in part, grounded in China’s history. Xin Weimu, a Chinese national graduate of Yale, wrote in the Sixth Tone: To some [Chinese], the occasional use of mob tactics to punish political-correctness transgressions [in the United States] calls to mind periods of modern Chinese history – such as the bloody years of the Cultural Revolution – when saying the wrong thing was enough to get you labeled a “rightist,” or even cost you your life. Whether right or wrong, that’s the association many Chinese make when they hear the term. (Xin, 2018, para. 8)

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Due to their experience of political censorship in China, their national origin orientation evokes a fear that the government will police thought and language that would result in persecution if political correctness goes unchecked. One first-generation member said that he supported Trump not because he particularly liked him, but because the Democratic Party’s style reminds him of the Cultural Revolution (Carlson, 2018, para. 15). Thus, the first-generation has become particularly susceptible to the far-right’s demonization of political correctness, which resonates with this internalized fear. According to Yan Gu, a University of Washington doctoral candidate studying authoritarianism who has researched Chinese online opinion about Trump, “attacks on political correctness appeal to some Chinese” (Carlson, 2018, para. 17). In particular, political correctness in the Chinese community has become conflated and linked to far-right rhetoric around “illegal immigration, Islamist terrorism, affirmative action, transgender activism, and Hillary Clinton” (Carlson, 2018, para. 15). Such rhetoric has made it difficult for the second-generation to pursue productive dialogue with the first-generation because important issues on racial diversity and inclusion are often swept aside as part of the baizuo, or White-Left, agenda. By conceiving political correctness through cultural norms and fears based on their experiences in China, the national origin orientation has limited many first-generation members to clearly analyze issues in the American context to engage in informed dialogue with the second-generation.

SUMMARY Research shows that there is an undercurrent of conservatism in the Chinese American community, specifically among the first-generation (Linthicum, 2016). Such difference in views may stem from the first-generation’s national origin orientation, where they translate their background and experience into American politics. Their lived experiences are, therefore, especially relevant where they are shaped and mediated by policies and policy-related discourses (McIntosh & Wright 2018). Many in the first-generation engage in political discourse by applying their understanding of strongman leadership, law and order, mingling family and business through guanxi, and political correctness from their experiences in China 269

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to the U.S. context. This national origin orientation leads them to see issues around fairness and justice through a different lens compared to the U.S-raised second-generation Chinese. By not recalibrating their understanding to incorporate the nuances of American culture and institutions, compounded by the cultural hierarchy that inhibits active listening to the younger generation, intergenerational discourse is often marked by discordance and stalemate.

CONCLUSION The Chinese American community represents a microcosm of the current U.S. political landscape, where discourse has been marked by heightened polarization that has created severe fissures and tension within families. The author identifies three themes espoused by the first-generation that may bring about conflict in intergenerational discourse: an authoritarian orientation, polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. This chapter’s analysis reveals how much peoples’ subconscious is attributed to the childhood experiences that make certain people more susceptible to certain orientations. According to Friedgood (1951), experiences sown under intense insecurity during childhood are known to have a direct bearing on the behavior of the adult individual toward sources of authority or the symbols that represent them. Thus, living under communism has inextricably influenced first-generation’s formation of their worldviews, modes of communication and political preferences. Having the luxury of not growing up under repression, the second-generation often incorporates the first-generation’s experience into a broader understanding of systemic injustices. However, the inability to carry deep and meaningful dialogue on sociopolitical issues has created a level of intergenerational discord and has challenged the cultural expectation of maintaining familial harmony. Applying the threetheme framework informs on the factors constricting productive intergenerational discourse. Beyond understanding discourse in the Chinese community, this framework may offer compassion for those who suffered under repressive regimes. It also sheds light on what causes and strengthens polarizing rhetoric and mindsets that may endanger democracies, and in the author’s case, a democracy for which her parents had risked their lives to bestow on the second-generation.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The chapter’s three themes provide a preliminary framework to examine intergenerational discourse and political rhetoric in the Chinese American community. Future investigations can further validate the conclusions. A number of future research directions could contribute to a broader body of work related to this topic. For example, since the national origin orientation is a concept that the author created, examining its application on other U.S. immigrant groups can help validate the orientation’s utility for understanding intergenerational divides. Future work can also focus on the authoritarian orientation’s persistence across generations and across seas. Currently, there are studies on the authoritarian orientation in Asian countries and how it has evolved under modernization and democratization within those countries. However, no longitudinal studies have been conducted on populations who grew up in authoritarian orientated societies and then immigrate to a Western, liberal democracy and how that orientation evolves in the new home country.

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Questions that can be asked are: Can the authoritarian orientation be tempered or shed living within a democratic system? What conditions and resources are needed to support that process? Finally, future research can examine the diversity within the Chinese American population. Although the chapter focuses on the author’s parent’s generation who grew up during the Chinese Communist Revolution, many younger Chinese immigrants also espouse similar views (Wang, 2017). Plänker’s (2011) qualitative study on the psychological impact of the Cultural Revolution included interviewing children of the survivors. The study showed that many of these children experienced a degree of intergenerational transmission of trauma, which included an impaired ability to establish good relationships. To what extent would the three-theme framework apply to this younger group who did not live through the chaos of the Revolution, attained graduate degrees, and later became U.S. citizens? Research to examine the subsets of the first-generation population may extend the framework’s utility and understanding of the overall topic on political rhetoric and discourse.

LIMITATIONS This study has potential limitations due its methodology. The author uses an autobiographical approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography in order to document her family’s background and her lifetime experience in intergenerational discourse as a close witness to provide a deep analysis on the topic. Therefore, by nature, a degree of subjectivity is built into such a qualitative approach. The author also draws from a sample size limited to her observations of her family and her interactions with members within the Chinese American community in New York City. Therefore, the data may not be expansive enough to cross-validate the generalized depiction of intergenerational dialogue. To establish reliability and cross-validate the findings, future research can supplement the author’s approach by using a triangulation method to integrate information from different sources and from multiple perspectives from a broader sample size in the Chinese American community. A variety of quantitative data collection methods can be used, such as surveys and questionnaires, supplemented by more extensive qualitative research through interviews and focus groups, to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.

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Wang, E. (2017, October 11). Conservative Chinese Americans are mobilizing, politically and digitally. Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/social-justice/conservative-chinese-americans-are-mobilizingpolitically-and-digitally Wright, S. (2016). Conceptualising the active welfare subject: Welfare reform in discourse, policy and lived experience. Policy and Politics, 44(2), 235–252. doi:10.1332/030557314X13904856745154 Xie, Y., & Gough, M. (2011). Ethnic enclaves and the earnings of immigrants. Demography, 48(4), 1293–1315. doi:10.100713524-011-0058-8 PMID:21863367 Xin, W. (2018, November 13). Why Western political correctness hasn’t caught on in China. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003192/why-western-political-correctness-hasnt-caught-on-in-china Xing, T. (2020, May 21). Chinese American Trump supporters explain themselves. World Crunch. https:// worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/chinese-american-trump-supporters-explain-themselves Yuan, L. (2019, April 16). Donald Trump, China savior? Some Chinese say yes. New York Times. https:// www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/business/trump-china.html Zhang, C. C. (2017, May 11). The curious rise of the ‘white left’ as a Chinese internet insult. Open Democracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/digitaliberties/curious-rise-of-white-left-as-chineseinternet-insult/ Zhou, M. (2020, September 9). Meet Trump’s WeChat-powered, Chinese conservative fan club. Asian Review. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/US-elections-2020/Meet-Trump-s-WeChat-powered-Chineseconservative-fan-club

ADDITIONAL READING Dickson, B. J., Oi, J. C., Pye, L. W., Thurston, A. F., & Walder, A. G. (1992, October). What explains Chinese political behavior? The debate over structure and culture. Comparative Politics, 25(1), 103–118. doi:10.2307/422099 Leibold, J. (2011). Blogging alone: China, the Internet, and the democratic illusion? The Journal of Asian Studies, 70(4), 1023–1041. doi:10.1017/S0021911811001550

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Meng, X., Qian, N., & Yared, P. (2015). The Institutional Causes of China’s Great Famine, 1959–1961. Review of Economic Studies. https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/pyared/papers/famines.pdf Rensmann, L. (2018). The persistence of the authoritarian appeal: On critical theory as a framework for studying populist actors in European democracies. In J. Morelock (Ed.), Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism (pp. 29–48). London: University of Westminster Press. Retrieved September 1, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv9hvtcf.6 Su, C., & Littlefield, J. (2001). Entering guanxi: A business ethical dilemma in mainland China? Journal of Business Ethics, 33(3), 199–210. doi:10.1023/A:1017570803846

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Thompson, M. R. (2015, November). Democracy with Asian characteristics. The Journal of Asian Studies, 74(4), 875–887. doi:10.1017/S0021911815001187 Yin, Y. H. (2010, March). Cultural and social interpretation of Chinese addressing strategies. English Language Teaching, 3(1), 3. doi:10.5539/elt.v3n1p195 Zhang, X. Y. (2016). Language as a reflection of culture: On the cultural characteristics of Chinese and English proverbs. Intercultural Communication Studies. Zhuo, J. S. (2019, January). Grammatical constructions and Chinese discourse. In Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Authoritarian Orientation: Theoretical construct for describing and understanding the Chinese cultural emphasis on respecting authority and hierarchy, especially within the family. Baizuo: Literally translates to “White Left,” which is a Chinese derogatory political epithet to describe Western/American leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people. Far-Right: Politics that represent conservative social ideas belonging to the extreme right of the American political spectrum that frequently embodies anti-communist, nationalist and nativist ideologies and authoritarian tendencies of modern American politics. First-Generation Chinese Americans (First-Generation): The first set of immigrants of a family from China who arrived in the United States around, or shortly after, the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s. Guanxi: Chinese communication characteristic that uses an insider and outsider perspective that shapes interpersonal relationships, interactions, and connections. National Origin Orientation: Theoretical construct for the first-generation’s tendency to apply social norms and political structures from China to analyze socio-political issues in the United States. Second-Generation Chinese Americans (Second-Generation): The children of the first-generation who were either born in or arrived in the United States as children in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Chapter 15

Trump’s Declaration of the Global Gag Rule: Understanding Socio-Political Discourses Through Media Sudeep Uprety Tribhuvan University, Nepal Obindra B. Chand HERD International, Nepal

ABSTRACT The current expanded policy on the Global Gag Rule by the United States (US) government and President Donald Trump has led to wider debate and discussions among the non-government organization (NGO) sector, especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) such as Nepal that are heavily reliant on US funding for health research and intervention projects. Debates and discussions are also shaped by how the media shapes the narrative. Using the securitization theory, this chapter attempts to unfold the trend and the nature of stories reported in Nepali media on the Global Gag Rule declaration, meticulously unfolding the impact it has had in Nepal.

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BACKGROUND The Global Gag Rule (GGR), also known as the Mexico City Policy is a health policy first announced in 1984 by the United States (US) President Ronald Reagan, which has been into effect under various administrations. As per the policy, foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are required to certify that they will not “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning,” using funds from any source (including non-US funds), as a condition for receiving global family planning assistance and now also other U.S. global health assistance after President Donald Trump’s (2017-2021) declaration on January 23, 2017 (The White House, 2017). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch015

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The current expanded policy on the Global Gag Rule by the US government applies to almost all of bilateral global health assistance (KFF, 2020), including family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, nutrition, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), tuberculosis, malaria under President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), neglected tropical diseases, global health security and certain types of research activities. This policy led to wide debates and discussions among the NGO sector, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) such as Nepal that is heavily reliant on US funding for health research and intervention projects. President Trump and US government’s decision on the Global Gag Rule has already had an adverse effect. Say health care professionals from clinics being shut down, predictions of high rise of unsafe abortions and some life-saving procedures are avoided due to unavailability of funds (Quackenbush, 2018). The gravity of the effect is as such that the funding loss for just two organizations, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International, could lead to about 7.5 million unwanted pregnancies and 2.5 million unsafe abortions (Quackenbush, 2018). The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in 1994 provisioned for freedom of individuals to decide on the number, spacing and timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do so. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three out of ten of pregnancies and six out of ten of unintended pregnancies resulted in an induced abortion. Among these, one out of three were carried out in the least safe or dangerous conditions. Strikingly, over half of all estimated unsafe abortions globally were in Asia, mostly in south and central Asia (World Health Organization, 2020a). Undoubtedly, the year 2020 has been particularly challenging with the Covid-19 global pandemic with over 53.7 million cases and 1.3 million deaths reported globally during the first half of the year (World Health Organization, 2020b). Access to quality and timely reproductive health services, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to this global pandemic, has already been a challenge. The global health crisis brought about by Covid-19 creates overwhelming demands for national health system to provide essential sexual and reproductive health services. A study by Riley et al. (2020) estimates that a mere 10 percent decline in service delivery due to Covid-19 would result increase of 49 million in the number of women with an unmet need for modern contraception and an additional 15 million unintended pregnancies per year. The current expanded policy on the Global Gag Rule by the United States (US) government and President Donald Trump, therefore, has led to wider debate and discussions among the non-government organization (NGO) sector, especially in LMICs, such as Nepal, that are heavily reliant on US funding for health research and intervention projects. Debates and discussions are also very much shaped by how the media shapes the narrative. Using the securitization theory, this chapter attempts to unfold the trend and the nature of stories reported in Nepali media on the Global Gag Rule declaration, meticulously unfolding the impact it has had in Nepal.

ABORTION IN NEPAL Until the beginning of the 21st century, abortion in Nepal, was largely restrictive and considered illegal, immoral, a sin and wrong doing. It was considered as equal to an infanticide or a murder. Accordingly, “the medical practitioners were barred from performing abortion, and women who sought abortions had to do it clandestinely” (Thapa, 2004, p. 86). Thapa (2004) added that “The efforts to bring some 278

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reform began from 1970s when in 1974, the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) had organized a high-level conference to discuss the relevance of legalizing abortion and making it accessible to women with unwanted pregnancies” (p. 89). The amendment of the Country Code (or Muluki Ain) in 2002 is a landmark moment which triggered initial reforms. Furthermore, it was the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act promulgated in 2018 that recognized women’s rights to abortion as a human right. It provisioned a permission of abortion with the consent of a pregnant woman up to 12 weeks of gestational age, and a pregnancy of up to 28 weeks of gestational age resulting from rape, incest, or situations where the woman suffers from HIV or other similar types of incurable diseases (Guttmacher Institute, 2019). The latest 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reveals that only four in ten women know abortion is legal in Nepal. Among these women, 29 percent know abortion is allowable for termination of pregnancies of up to 18 weeks in the case of rape or incest and 23 percent know abortion is allowable up to 12 weeks gestation for any women (23 percent). With regards to the reasons for abortion, half of the surveyed women shared that they did not want more children, and twelve percent women wanted to delay childbearing. While most of the abortions (70 percent) were medication abortions, other abortion procedures were manual vacuum aspiration (17 percent) and dilation and evacuation/dilation and curettage (7 percent). Most of the abortion providers (71 percent) were medical practitioners; doctors, nurses, or auxiliary nurse midwives (Ministry of Health, Nepal; New ERA; and ICF, 2017). In terms of the availability of the safe abortion services, particularly legalization of the abortion, safe abortion services are available across the country (Wu et al., 2017, p. 224). Despite the progress and achievements, many women in Nepal still face obstacles to access safe abortion services. Women do not have access to transportation facilities, information, and awareness of the legal status of abortion. Likewise, gender and social norms also prohibit women from making “decisions related to abortion and their reproductive health” (Rogers et al., 2019, p. 8). Media reporting on health issues in Nepal is few and far between let alone abortion issues. A study carried out by Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) conducted a media monitoring on GGR between January 2017 and July 2018. During that 18-month period, the study identified only six Nepali media articles covering GGR agenda. The media stories highlighted about the negative impact on the programs and organizations such as Family Planning Association of Nepal and Marie Stopes International. When it comes to shaping narratives and discourses through media, securitization has an important role, as is explained below.

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SECURITIZATION, DE-SECURITIZATION AND THE ROLE OF MEDIA Securitization as a concept is closely linked with linguistics through scholars like Jacques Derrida (1988) who talks about metaphysics, which he defines as, “The enterprise of returning ‘strategically’, ‘ideally’, to an origin or to a priority throught to be simple, intact, normal, pure, standard, self-identical, in order than to think in terms of derivation, complication, deterioration, accident, etc.” (p. 236) Securitization is the process of positioning through speech acts, usually by a political leader, of a particular issue as a threat to survival, which in turn, with the consent of the relevant constituency, enables emergency measures and the suspension of “normal politics” in dealing with that issue (Gleditsch, 2005, p. 141).

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Political Agency, Audience and Context are major components in the theory of securitization (Balzacq, 2005, p. 182). In this theory, Balzacq (2005) adds that a successful securitization creates perception of an “existential threat” (p. 182), and puts forward three basic assumptions:

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(i) that an effective securitization is audience-centered; (ii) that securitization is context-dependent; (iii) that an effective securitization is power-laden. Authors have thus aligned their analysis of the abortion and GGR related stories covered in Nepali media from the theory and principles of Copenhagen School of Security Studies. Vladimir Sulovic (2010) in his article Meaning of Security and the Theory of Securitization, conceptualizes security as a process of social construction of threats, which includes securitizing actor, who declares certain matter as urgent and a posing threat for the survival of the referent object, that, once accepted with the audience, legitimizes the use of extraordinary measures for neutralization of the threat. Another important component in this theoretical analysis is the act of de-securitization whereby the abortion issue is moved out of threat and defense sequence into the “ordinary public sphere” where they can be dealt with in accordance of the “democratic” political system (Taureck, 2006, p. 60). Henceforth, for this study, securitization theory is applied to understand the tone of the speech act and securitization about abortion by President Trump and the subsequent reaction to the speech act in Nepali media. As illustrated in Figure 1, the theoretical analysis of this study rests on analyzing the elements of securitization and de-securitization prevalent in abortion discourses carried out by Nepali media. The established notion of securitization is to consider global gag rule as an existential threat to reproductive health as there are several taboos, myths and misconceptions surrounding abortion, due to prevailing gender and social norms. This threat building is done through the process of speech act, and leads to significant impact, when it comes from the top leadership such as the US President Donald J. Trump (2017-2021), who given his personality and persona, would make the argument more convincing. On the other hand, the opposing notion of securitization or de-securitization is to no longer consider global gag rule as a threat and the need to demystify the myths and misconceptions regarding abortion through media. This makes the role of media, even more important not only to inform but also to educate the public on matters of public importance. Media plays an instrumental role in not just informing the public about a certain decision but also triggers wider debates and even sometimes leads to discourses around that matter. According to Happer and Philo (2013) media helps in agenda setting and driving “public interest on particular subjects, which operates to limit the range of arguments and perspectives that inform public debate” (p. 328). The importance of de-securitization in taking forward the abortion discourses using media in the right manner as compared to securitization can be better explained in Figure 2, which shows how a threat perception is developed or constructed among the public through the process of threat identification by Donald Trump through speech act and threat framing by the media. However, the need is to deconstruct this threat perception through a non-linear and integrated approach of de-securitization as explained in Figure 3. The process of de-securitization can bring about three major actors, reproductive health practitioners and researchers, media agencies and policy makers to develop a common understanding about the threat element, if it at all exists, and adopt appropriate measures for public awareness on safe abortion. Thus, this study advocates for de-securitization of abortion discourses to sensitize the right information about abortion matters to the public through media 280

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Figure 1. Principles of Securitization and De-securitization

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Figure 2. Process of Securitization of Abortion Discourses using Media

IMPRESSIONS FROM MEDIA STORIES AND KEY INFORMANTS Research Methodology For the purpose of this chapter, the authors collected primary data about President Trump’s declaration of GGR related stories from various Nepali media outlets. For the purpose of convenience in data analysis and coding, only the articles published in English were selected. Likewise, only those articles published by Nepali media houses were selected. To find the media articles, Google search was used

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and the key terms included: “Global Gag Rule”, “Global Gag Rule and Nepal”. “Global Gag Rule and media”, “Global Gag Rule, Trump and media”. From the search, a total of 8 media articles were identified which were then coded and analyzed in detail, using content analysis method. Coding was done by the two authors where the themes and codes were categorized in a Microsoft Excel file.

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Figure 3. Process of De-securitization of Abortion using Media

Eight Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were taken with public health professionals, sexual and reproductive health rights activists, media researchers and journalists to understand the broader context. Relevant literature reviews were also undertaken to gather more evidence and information. Building on the theoretical framework of securitization and de-securitization, authors have analyzed Discourse as Text (how the storylines have been built up) and Discourse as Action (whether the argument and the language is assertive, commissive, expressive, directive or declarative) to form an impression about the nature and extent of securitization of the abortion discourse.

Impressions From Media Stories Content analysis of articles represent a diverse direction of discourses. Starting with How Donald Trump’s anti-abortion rule is creating a dystopia for Nepali women, the story begins with a media professional

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banned from using the word “abortion” (Doe, 2015). Then the narrative takes readers through the context of the Mexico City policy, for instance, “Trump and his policy have begun to undo all of that work”. The story then revolves around the implication at the programmatic level in Nepal and hints at the relevance still on this safe abortion, “Meanwhile, Sharma’s notifications at Khuldulee.com are still blowing up.” The article thus, takes the directive discourse route as the narrative directs the readers towards how the GGR has affected the lives of many stakeholders from beneficiaries, project officials, community stakeholders and even media professionals. In another article Cutting the lifeline, Ryan’s (2017) story starts with the context of London Family Planning Summit 2017, and then seeks reactions from FPAN, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Marie Stopes International (MSI) on the level and extent of impact. One interesting quote from Amu Singh Sijapati of FPAN included, “The United States is a very big country: the rules they implement affect small countries like Nepal. It’s not good to play politics with human health” (para. 4). Reading the article, the story follows an assertive discourse on the significant impact the GGR as it created in the deduction in funding as illustrated by this statement, “the cuts will obstruct distribution of contraceptives, counselling or perhaps the helpline that receives 76,000 calls a year” (para. 14). In the article Global Gag Rule jeopardizing sexual healthcare, The Himalayan Times (2019) talks about the findings of report by new report published by CREHPA and International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC). Then the article details the impact on the organizations and community activities. At the end, it seeks validation from the policy stakeholder about the need of the funding and donor dependency. The article follows a commissive discourse as it hints towards the necessity of the government/Ministry of Health and Population to ensure funding commitment from various sources to improve the sexual and reproductive health programs. The story ends with health minister’s quote: “We cannot ensure the reproductive and sexual health rights of women unless we have enough budget” (para. 1.) In Global Gag Rule could ‘cripple’ healthcare in Nepal (Winter, 2017), the story starts with impact of GGR on the funding cut on NGOs. Then the narrative takes forward with the reactions of Human Rights Watch, UNFPA and Family Planning Association of Nepal. It doesn’t end with any definite direction or declaration for the readers. The article follows an expressive discourse as it talks about the potential impact of GGR, especially for a poor country like Nepal which is largely dependent on foreign aid. A statement from the article reiterated this argument: “As both a poor country dependent on US foreign aid and with legalized abortion, Nepal appears positioned to be severely impacted with the consequences far-reaching” (para. 4). Furthermore, in How the Trump Gag Rule Threatens Women’s Lives in Nepal, Shrestha (2017) discusses the story of a 15-year-old girl in the prison charged of infanticide. Then it talks about the history of legalization of abortion, “bureaucratic games” affecting women’s health severely in remote areas and the impact that the US funding cut would have on the reproductive health programming. Thus, the article can be considered as following the declarative discourse as the narrative and headline declares about GGR ‘threatening’ women’s lives in Nepal by statements such as: “Nepal’s doctors are committed to bringing maternal mortality down further, but President Trump’s reintroduction of the global gag rule casts a shadow over their efforts” (para. 10). Likewise, another strong statement amplifies the declaration by the author about the implication of GGR, “American aid has made a very valuable contribution to women’s health, but these policy reversals undermine it. Nepali women’s welfare is vulnerable to the whims of each new administration” (para. 12). Likewise, in another article, Global Gag Rule Impacts Access to Quality Health Care Services: Study Gorkhapatra’s (2020) narrative starts with the findings of the CREHPA and IWHC. Then the narrative

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moves forward with the impact on exercising reproductive health rights as illustrated by this statement, “Similar to last year, silencing of voices on abortion continued across United States government funded organisations, which creates a challenging situation for women to exercise their reproductive rights” (para. 11). Thus, the article follows an assertive discourse discussing about the impact the GGR has created in exercising reproductive rights. The story is also assertive about lack of budget allocation and technical human resources to provide health care. In his article, Trump policy to affect family planning programs in Nepal, Aryal (2017) starts with how various organizations have been affected by Trump’s policy referring to FPAN and CRS. Then the narrative moves with how the government is seeking support with other aid agencies. He stated “Other partners such as the Global Fund on Family Planning, set up by different countries such as the Netherlands and Canada have already shown interest in supporting family planning programs” (para. 7). Thus, the media story adopts directive discourse, directing the readers towards how the USAID fund cut due to GGR has impacted the reproductive health programming and how opportunities are explored with other donors such as DFID, Netherlands and Canada. Finally, the article How Trump’s first set of executive orders will hurt Nepal by Online Khabar (2017) starts with starts with how the ban affected NGOs providing safe abortion services or provide information on abortion. Following that, the narrative moves forward on the specific impact which stated that “We would not be able to run community clinics or mobile health days or train healthcare workers. The impact also means we would lose essential medical staff like nurses, doctors and health experts” (para. 7). The story follows an assertive discourse as it discusses “severe implications on the reproductive health sector in Nepal” (para. 8). In a nutshell, among the eight media stories, we find that most of the stories are assertive. Three out of eight stories followed by directive discourse. Likewise, three of the remaining stories attempted to establish commissive, expressive and declarative discourse. This suggests diverse perspectives and different take on the same issue. There could be various reasons for that, from editorial decisions made in line with the ideological inclination of the media publications, subjective interpretation of the journalists/ editors on the issue, the commitment of the journalists to consider it as a priority and conduct in-depth investigation, resource availability and the motivation provided to the journalists to cover the issue, the level of information and insights provided by the public health experts and the capacity of the journalists to comprehend the information and develop into a compelling story.

Impressions From Key Informant Interviews

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Reproductive health policy and programming in Nepal The key informants have shared that though health policies and programs have progressed over the years in Nepal, especially reproductive and sexual health indicators such as the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has remained stagnant. They share that there are already good policy structures in place and there are no major revisions required in terms of policy changes. An external development partner (EDP) representative breaks down the evolution of reproductive health policy development in Nepal. It was mentioned how the 1994 ICPD popularly known as the “Cairo Conference” was a pivotal moment in the reproductive health sector. He adds that since 1994, family planning has become more right based and voluntary with more respect for the service seekers and considered one of the markers of the successes in reproductive health programming. 284

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Family planning is a clinical science as well, as it has hormonal effect upon the people. Pre 1994 era, it was very much vertical and supply driven. During those times, at the community level, the health workers would randomly pick community people and sterilize them in the name of “family planning”. So, the community people would run away whenever they came across the health workers. However, with the exponential rise of new diseases, the funding shifted due to HIV/AIDS from 2000 to 2010. The 2012 London Summit on Family Planning started the second wave of family planning. Since then, there has been more advocacy and structured reforms such as health systems strengthening, which is really good. (KII with EDP representative, 2020) In terms of health infrastructure and standards, the key informants also shared that the privacy and confidentiality of the service seekers is not maintained. The health workers also lack capacity and expertise to deal with sensitivity to the adolescents on family planning, reproductive health matters. Even those who have the training and expertise have not been mobilized properly to transfer the knowledge elsewhere in the nook and corner of the country. When it comes to the prioritization from the political level, most of the participants share that the overall political commitment on reproductive health is seriously missing. The role of advisors and technocrats also comes into play here. The advisers and the secretary level officials at the health ministry needs to be updated about global policy prioritization and local and global evidence, which be the basis for any policy decisions. Ministers and politicians do not have the time to meticulously look into micromanagement and therefore the role of advisors to feed the decision makers with timely and accurate information is imperative. The key informants also frequently mentioned the case of a team of advisors within the health ministry wrongly advising on the use of Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) for Covid-19 crisis has exposed the lack of seriousness at the top level of health system in Nepal.

Impact of Global Gag Rule in Nepal

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A public health professional shares how United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s 76 million US dollar funding was obstructed due to the GGR declaration. UNFPA included that the staff working in various USAID funded organizations and projects such as the Marie Stopes International (MSI), Ipas and Population Services International (PSI) were reduced to half. It was also shared that there were some European countries providing some funding to address the family planning funding gaps, particularly, reported about UK government providing some additional funding and Buffet Foundation providing some aid with the help of anonymous donors. MSI and Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) were implementing family planning programme in 22 districts and about 122 health facilities could not function after there were restrictions due to GGR declaration. At the community level, it was largely affected. Family Planning programme’s national and sub-national partnership and networking among civil society organizations, outreach workers and health workers stopped drastically. (KII with EDP representative, 2020) According to the key informants, irrespective of the demand and necessity of family planning and constitutional provision such as Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health (RH) Act, it is still not prioritized yet.

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The health system and health aid are fragmented, piecemeal and disconnected. The voice of the frontline health care providers who are at the forefront of community health care in the remote areas are not being heard. The top leadership in the health care have not been very sensitive to this issue. There is a lack of awareness and interest to address the RH funding gap due to GGR and USAID funding. Perhaps they feared that it would affect US-Nepal relationship. (KII with EDP representative, 2020) The key informants further add that there is less tendency to take risks and the Nepali health system is not ‘trained’ to ask difficult questions to the donor community. There is a fear that it would affect the relationship. According to him, this perhaps also relates to the lack of confidence for the fact that these secretaries did not have adequate knowledge about GGR or were briefed properly by their advisers.

Lack of skills and capacity of the journalists A media professional shares that the journalists who are handling the health beat, do not possess adequate skills and knowledge to report on public health issues, especially on reproductive and sexual health. It is added that there is lack of capacity and understanding on the part of the health journalists to understand and comprehend, why is this public health phenomenon repeating or growing. Due to this lack of expertise, it is perceived that there is lack of ‘confidence’ among the journalists to bring issues into the forefront of debates or discussions for public discourse. However, the capacity of journalists is not the sole reason. The way the whole media environment functions, the sort of stories/narratives the media prioritizes for its “big story” of the day also triggers the interest (or the lack of) among the journalists.

Lack of motivation and resources

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Journalists are not the only ones to be blamed. There is also lack of editorial guidance on what and how to report when it comes to health topics. The journalists are also not given enough motivation, time and resources. While some media houses cannot afford to do so with their limited human resources in a context where journalists need to cover several other socio-political issues apart from health, some of the major media houses that have the resources, too, do not seem to take it seriously. Health related reporting are limited to 300-400 words and the editorial rooms do not motivate the journalists enough to produce in-depth reports. Health reports hardly make it to the first page of the mainstream print media. If we look at the trend of media reporting on health over the last 20 years in Nepal, lately, since the last 5-7 years, the reporting has much improved. The advent of online media and the rise of specific health news sites such as Swasthya Khabar Patrika and Health Post Nepal has clearly improved the quality and quantity of health reporting. There are now some good health journalists, especially in the online media section who have been doing comprehensive reporting and they are fact-based. However, this number is relatively very small, few and far between. A large chunk of health reporting in Nepal is still very much activity/event based. The general trend is to rely on development organizations such as WHO, any I/NGO officials to provide factsheets of any health events and that is pretty much the ‘media coverage’. We do not find a great deal of investigative reporting on health issues. (KII with public health professional, 2020)

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Emotional and event-based type of reporting As shared by the key informants, most of the reports seem to be event-based type of reporting in a district where there are so many cases of abortion or malnutrition. In the cases of epidemic outbreaks, there is surprisingly very emotional reporting, even by the so-called professional media houses. According to the key informants, this is perhaps due to lack of proper orientation and even understanding by the journalists about their responsibilities. Reporting of news such as the government has distributed the sanitary pads but not critical analysis why is this not justified to spend so much of resources. (KII with health rights activist, 2020)

Dependence on others for sources, lack of investigative culture There is surprisingly, a very huge dependence on government health authorities for seeking information. The government sources are not reliable all the time. In the recent years, the documentation and knowledge management practice has improved to some extent but the websites are not regularly updated, when we need the information, data and statistics. What I have noticed is that perhaps also due to the quality of journalism education. The inability and lack of practice of reading resources in English has also limited the knowledge and understanding of journalists. This lack of exposure has led the journalists to see the larger picture, the political-economy, deep rooted structural dimensions of any public health problem. (KII with media researcher, 2020) The trend of evidence-based reporting especially on reproductive health in Nepali media is few and far between. Consequently, the taboos and the social prejudices prevalent are not discussed and debated enough in the public spheres, thereby adding to the misconceptions, myths and stigma surrounding abortion. Mostly event based, rather than investigative, in-depth reporting is prevailing in Nepali media. The deeprooted stigma on abortion could be one of the major reasons behind less media reporting on abortion issues. Occasionally, we do find investigative articles published by Centre for Investigative Journalism and other weekly/monthly outlets such as Nepali Times. (KII with media researcher, 2020)

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Media reporting on GGR KII with health journalist (2020) had done an investigative story on the GGR shares her interesting reporting experience: Before and after I was involved in covering the media story on GGR, there has been very less media reporting and documentation on GGR. Programmes and projects related to safe abortion, sexual and reproductive health have been scattered here and there. When the GGR declaration happened, it hugely impacted the ongoing USAID projects and programs. Several people lost their jobs and interventions at the community level were hampered. (KII with health journalist, 2020)

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Sensationalism and click bait journalism are additional factors which need to be dealt with seriously. As per the key informants, due to our structural gender and social norms, reproductive health issues are still considered as a taboo and the media leverages this opportunity for sensationalist stories. There seems to be a pattern of excessive promotion and advertisement on emergency contraceptive pills in the television, radio and print media. From public health perspective, emergency pills may not be a very suitable alternative as compared to other short- and long-term family planning methods. The risks, side effects of these pills are not properly disseminated in the media and therefore right kind of messaging may not have reached to the public through the media. (KII with public health professional, 2020)

Media and readership culture The key informants also stressed the importance of language in communicating key public health messages. Readership is the key, especially when the stories are not read by many, and obviously, the accessibility would be limited. As I covered the investigative media story in English language and naturally, most of the readership in Nepal is in Nepali language, it did not create that kind of buzz as we anticipated. We did not receive a lot of feedback. It was also a realization for us that when there is lack of readership on such important public health issues, the debates do not get transitioned into discourses, unfortunately. The agenda then does not get prioritized for any policy or programmatic response. (KII with health journalist, 2020) The key informants have also observed regarding the lack of acknowledgement in the newsroom culture. When one media covers an important topic, other media does not tend to acknowledge the effort to take the agenda forward by cross-referencing and digging the issue further. Then the process of taking forward the narrative stops there itself, which is unfortunate.

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Social and gender norms A strong observation by most of the key informants shows that regarding the prevailing social and gender norms standing as a barrier to seek reproductive health services. Even if a service seeker is interested to adopt any family planning method, the choices of methods and products are not always available in all the health facilities. Adding to that, whenever a woman/girl ‘dares’ to visit a health facility to seek family planning services, keeping aside various sorts of gender and social norms and even then, she cannot use method of her choice, she will become very much disinterested in opting for institutional care and rather is forced to opt for illegal and unhygienic practices. This has severely affected the usage of family planning methods among women of reproductive age. Further, events and incidents, which have occurred in the communities, have shown that girls/women are reported as disproportionately affected by such incidents. About 3 years ago, a girl fainted in the school and she was brought to Koshi hospital. She was pregnant and it diagnosed that the case was complicated. The fetus was in the fallopian tube and it got burst, and she fainted. She was operated/aborted in the hospital and got recovered. After her recovery, she married

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to another boy from her village. However, the boy who made the girl pregnant—escaped from the village, came to Kathmandu, and continued his study. (KII with health rights activist, 2020) The key informants also discuss that abortion is sadly considered only as a woman’s issue. When a woman visits or even plans to visit a health facility for abortion services, she is constantly judged from a moral ground. The whole idea and perception of woman’s right over her body has been discarded. Discussing sexual and reproductive health in the public domain, is still a taboo. Most of the stories are written/reported by men and therefore there is greater degree of moral policing. Just on the basis of asking few people in the pharmacies or private clinics, male reporters make assumptions without any proper authentication or evidence backing it. (KII with health journalist, 2020) According to the key informants, regionalism is also another factor which the media agencies have not factored in properly. They share that the policy making practice in Nepal has been very much centralized due to the fact that local media stories are not coming through because of the lack of prioritization or capacity. The concerns and the needs at the local level, therefore, do not reach the authorities who are developing policies and plans. Consequently, the donor community has cashed in this loophole to advance their own specific agendas and priorities while designing reproductive health related projects and programs. Policy makers are often found to be doing armchair planning. For example, the reproductive health situation of Karnali region is not known to a policy maker based in Singha Durbar (central level). Some external pressure from donor agencies shapes programmes and policies and often what these donors suggest, the policymakers tend to blindly agree with them, which is an entirely wrong practice. There are also very few responsible media who are able to grasp the problem and show directions to the policymakers about the way forward to address the local concerns regarding abortion and broader aspects of reproductive health. (KII with health rights activist)

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Thus, in a nutshell, through the content analysis of the media stories and the perspectives of the key informants, we can deduce that the media reporting on abortion and GGR is a multi-dimensional issue. It encompasses various areas related to the media ecosystem and how it functions. It also encompasses the capacity of the journalists and the prevailing gender and social norms that shape the media narratives. It further encompasses the role of the donor agencies in shaping the discourses related to abortion and reproductive health, in general.

CONCLUSION The content analysis of the media stories highlights that more than half, five out of eight, stories portray a strong opinion on the negative impact of the GGR. Although the sample of the media stories for this study is relatively small to jump into major conclusions, it is definitely an indication about the direction that the Nepali media houses and editors want the readers to go through. The remaining three stories

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also do not put forward on the positive light onto the impact of the GGR, but rather take another route for the same of being neutral or expressive in its storytelling or narrative. The perception of public health issues in the media is also guided by the socio-cultural context. Particularly with regards to abortion, “the discourse does not center on the rights-based approach” (Shrestha et al., 2018, p. 95). It also highlights how the lack of discussions around abortion related stigma and how the lack of clarity in integrating safe abortion services at the local level. Eventually, this might jeopardize existing achievements in the reproductive health sector. The patriarchal set up is clearly reflected through knowingly or unknowingly in the media. To a large extent, it is also due to the fact that most editorial teams in Nepali media have male editors and the environment in the media/news rooms are male centric. This has a direct or indirect impact on the angle the journalist takes over the story. In this regard, capacity and understanding of key public health issues by the journalists and the media sector is also imperative to the quality and extent of media reporting. On the other hand, the functioning of the media industry, how health is considered a “soft-issue” and whether there is scope of click-bait or sensationalism are all topics that can bring forward the matters. Apart from the gender and patriarchy dimension, the urban-rural peculiarities are yet to be explored further because there is a perception, or rather misperception, that urban women do not have to face such difficulties while accessing safe abortion services. However, due to existing social and gender norms, the way society perceives an urban lady visiting a health facility or gynecologist to seek SRH services with suspicion, doesn’t create an enabling environment. As educated and conscious group, a journalist also shared about a Twitter group where there is a platform for urban women to be informed about “safe” and “comfortable” spaces. However, this is limited to a private circle and does not reached the public domain where it should be. Policy and program prioritization practice especially at the ministerial level as shared by the key informants is on ad hoc basis. There is a need to be a proper guidance and attention of the evidence champions to ensure that the latest evidence is generated and informed to the media professionals as well as to government authorities. A stock-taking of the health policies in Nepal conducted by Nepal Health Sector Support Programme (NHSSP, 2018) shows that among the seven pillars of the health system, the National Safe Abortion Policy does not have a single policy statement on information and research. The media stories thus portrayed the general notion on the impact it carried at the policy and programmatic level. Hence, the media portrayal of securitization is also entirely not exaggerated or superficial. The GGR declaration and the fund cut, therefore, had really affected the ongoing interventions on safe abortions significantly, as evidences show and expressed by the key informants. Looking into a broader picture, this sort of media analyses, irrespective of the scale of the study, helps in unfolding the nature and tone of language and arguments expressed in the media to shape public opinion regarding foreign aid, the culture of ‘dependency’ and the impact it has on the bilateral, diplomatic relations in time of crisis. These sorts of studies also hold the importance particularly in the context of the use of speech acts, by powerful leaders like President Donald Trump, delivering news on fund cuts which create a lot of fear, shock, anxiety, anger, and confusion not just among the public but also for the large health ecosystem of medical professionals, public health administrators, researchers, drug manufacturing companies and suppliers as well the patients.

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RECOMMENDATIONS Media and social media in this age has a very important role to play when it comes to spreading knowledge and awareness. At the grass-root level, the information and awareness should be provided with the right channels. There is a tendency to promote only those campaigns paid by private corporations or development agencies such as advertisements of Air Ambulance by private hospitals. Matters of public health concern should also be promoted equally. In order to improve the reproductive health programs and policies, there is a need to focus the attention towards specific target groups such as adolescents. Through media and other open data platforms, a comprehensive information portal needs to be developed to be a user friendly and can be accessed easily by the service seekers. Yet, there are some platforms such as Swasthya Khabar and Mahila Khabar to spread information, but these efforts are few. Another important aspect is the need for proper government monitoring and channeling mechanism of these programs/projects. A bitter truth is that all health programs/projects are heavily donor dependent and highly influenced. Likely, such programs/projects should be designed, implemented and prioritized based on donor interests. A good example of donor funded reproductive health project is the USAID’s Health Communication and Capacity Collaborative (HC3). The four-year 5 million US dollar project collaborated with National Health Education Information Communication Centre (NHEICC) and Family Health Division (FHD) to target Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) campaigns among youth, adolescents, migrants and marginalized and disadvantaged groups (USAID, 2014). However, these efforts could not become sustainable due to discontinued funding. Considering abortion as something that is something beyond reproductive health and in the current understanding, abortion is therefore a social and inter-subjective construction. Considering the sensationalism that securitization creates, this study advocates for de-securitization whereby the abortion issues are moved out of threat and defense sequence into the ‘ordinary public sphere’ where they can be dealt with in accordance of the (democratic) socio-political system. Therefore, the following recommendations are made moving towards de-securitization of abortion discourses in Nepal through media by mitigating the current loopholes that led to the securitization: •

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•

•

The policy makers, especially the law makers in the parliament dealing with health; ofcials at Ministry of Health and Population and other line agencies need to play an intermediary role between media and public health agencies and act as a ‘de-securitizing’ agency to avoid any sensitive issues to be used as a tool for threat framing by the media. The media houses and journalists need to act responsibly and refect their own practices such as ensuring journalists are capacitated and motivated enough to report on health topics and ensuring there is good proportion of women journalists and editors so that their perspectives and narratives also get the ‘space’ the story deserves. The public health professionals and the civil society need to encourage regular discourses through public debates and interactions by identifying the trends of media reporting on abortion issues and how the sectoral experts can work together for better understanding of both the sectors for improved relationships and coordinated eforts of bringing the sensitive issues in the media for public sensitization.

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REFERENCES Aryal, B. P. (2017, April 5). Trump policy to affect family planning programs in Nepal. Republica. https:// myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/trump-policy-to-affect-family-planning-programs-in-nepal/ Balzacq, T. (2005). The Three Faces of Securitization: Political Agency, Audience and Context. European Journal of International Relations, 11(2), 171–201. doi:10.1177/1354066105052960 Derrida, J. (1977). Limited Inc. Northwestern University Press. Doe, J. (2015, February 5). How Donald Trump’s anti-abortion rule is creating a dystopia for Nepali women. The Kathmandu Post. https://kathmandupost.com/health/2019/11/01/how-donald-trump-s-antiabortion-rule-is-creating-a-dystopia-for-nepali-women Gleditsch, K. S. (2005). Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security by Barry Buzan and Ole Waever. Political Science Quarterly, 120(1), 141–142. doi:10.1002/j.1538-165X.2005.tb01330.x Global Gag Rule impacts access to quality health care services: Study. (2020, June 3). The Rising Nepal. https://risingnepaldaily.com/miscellany/global-gag-rule-impacts-access-to-quality-health-care-servicesstudy Global Gag Rule jeopardising sexual healthcare. (2019, March 10). The Himalayan Times. https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/global-gag-rule-jeopardising-sexual-healthcare/ Guttmacher Institute. (2019, October 16). Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in Nepal. https://www. guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/abortion-unintended-pregnancy-in-nepal# Guzzini, S. (2011). Securitization as a causal mechanism. Security Dialogue, 42(4–5), 329–341. doi:10.1177/0967010611419000 Happer, C., & Philo, G. (2013). The Role of the Media in the Construction of Public Belief and Social Change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(1), 321–336. doi:10.5964/jspp.v1i1.96 KFF. (2020, June 29). The Mexico City Policy: An Explainer. Global Health Policy. https://www.kff. org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/mexico-city-policy-explainer/ Ministry of Health Nepal, New ERA, & ICF. (2017). 2016 Demographic and Health Survey Key Findings. Ministry of Health. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR243/SR243.pdf

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NHSSP. (2018, April). Report on Stocktaking the Health Policies of Nepal. Ministry of Health. https:// www.nhssp.org.np/Resources/HPP/Stocktaking_the_Health_Policies_of_Nepal_April2018.pdf Online Khabar. (2017, January 24). How Trump’s first set of executive orders will hurt Nepal. Online Khabar English News. https://english.onlinekhabar.com/trumps-first-set-executive-orders-affect-nepal. html Quackenbush, C. (2018, February 5). The Impact of President Trump’s “Global Gag Rule” on Women’s Health is Becoming Clear. Time. https://time.com/5115887/donald-trump-global-gag-rule-women/

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Riley, T., Sully, E., Ahmed, Z., & Biddlecom, A. (2020, June 9). Estimates of the Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/ipsrh/2020/04/estimates-potential-impactcovid-19-pandemic-sexual-and-reproductive-health Rogers, C., Sapkota, S., Paudel, R., & Dantas, J. A. R. (2019). Medical abortion in Nepal: A qualitative study on women’s experiences at safe abortion services and pharmacies. Reproductive Health, 16(1), 1–15. doi:10.118612978-019-0755-0 PMID:31307474 Ryan, K. (2017, July 21). Cutting the lifeline Buzz. Nepali Times. https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/ Nepali-Times-Buzz/globe-rallies-to-aid-nepals-women,3841 Shrestha, D. R., Regmi, S. C., & Dangal, G. (2018). Abortion: Still Unfinished Agenda in Nepal. Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, 16(38), 93–98. doi:10.3126/jnhrc.v16i1.19375 PMID:29717298 Shrestha, S. (2017, February 9). How the Trump Gag Rule Threatens Women’s Lives in Nepal. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/opinion/how-the-trump-gag-rule-threatens-womenslives-in-nepal.html Sulovic, V. (2010, October 5). Meaning of Security and the Theory of Securitization. Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00006385/01/Security_Theory_Securitization.pdf Taureck, R. (2006). Securitization theory and securitization studies. Journal of International Relations and Development, 9(1), 53–61. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800072 Thapa, S. (2004). Abortion Law in Nepal: The Road to Reform. Reproductive Health Matters, 12(24), 85–94. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(04)24006-X PMID:15938161 The Himalayan Times. (2019, March 10). Global Gag Rule jeopardising sexual healthcare. The Himalayan. https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/global-gag-rule-jeopardising-sexual-healthcare/ The Mexico City Policy: An Explainer. (2020, June 29). KFF. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/ fact-sheet/mexico-city-policy-explainer/ The White House. (2017, January 23). Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Mexico City Policy. Presidential Memoranda. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memorandumregarding-mexico-city-policy/

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USAID. (2014, August 14). Health Communication Capacity Collaborative Project. U.S. Agency for International Development. https://www.usaid.gov/nepal/fact-sheets/health-communication-capacitycollaborative-project Winter, E. B. (2020, July 17). Global Gag Rule could “cripple” healthcare in Nepal. Republica. https:// myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/23923/ World Health Organization. (2020a, September 25). Preventing unsafe abortion. WHO. https://www. who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion World Health Organization. (2020b, November 17). Weekly epidemiological update - 17 November 2020. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update---17-november-2020

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Wu, W., Maru, S., Regmi, K., & Basnett, I. (2017). Abortion Care in Nepal, 15 Years after Legalization: Gaps in Access, Equity, and Quality. Health and Human Rights Journal, 19(1), 221–230. https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473051/

ADDITIONAL READING Balzacq, T. (2005). The Three Faces of Securitization: Political Agency, Audience and Context. European Journal of International Relations, 11(2), 171–201. doi:10.1177/1354066105052960 Happer, C., & Philo, G. (2013). The Role of the Media in the Construction of Public Belief and Social Change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(1), 321–336. doi:10.5964/jspp.v1i1.96 Sulovic, V. (2010, October 5). Meaning of Security and the Theory of Securitization. Belgrade Centre for Security Policy. http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00006385/01/Security_Theory_Securitization.pdf Uprety, S. (2019). Print Media’s Role in Securitization: National Security and Diplomacy Discourses in Nepal. National Security: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 734-753). doi:10.4018/9781-5225-7912-0.ch037 Uprety, S., & Ghimire, R. (2018). Media, Social Media, and the Securitization of Mental Health Problems in Nepal: Yama Buddha’s Case Study. In B. A. Canfield & H. A. Cunningham (Eds.), Deconstructing Stigma in Mental Health (pp. 42–69). IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3808-0.ch003

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Abortion: The procedure to end pregnancy through the use of medicine or surgery by removing fetus. Desecuritization: The process of nullifying an issue, particularly related to politics or national affairs that was securitized or considered a threat to human survival. Discourse: Interchange, discussion, and conversation over an idea or topic. Global Gag Rule: A policy by the United States government which prohibits foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to receive global health assistance to provide legal abortion services, referrals, or advocacy for abortion law reform. Media: A communication channel through which we disseminate various forms of information such as news, music, movies, education, among others. Securitization: The process whereby an issue, particularly related to politics or national affairs, is considered a threat to human survival and therefore requires emergency actions or coercive means. Sexual and Reproductive Health: The state of physical, mental, and social well-being related to reproductive system. Speech Act: The process of analyzing the meaning behind the use of words in a particular manner.

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Chapter 16

The Words of War:

A Content Analysis of Republican Presidential Speeches From Eisenhower, Nixon, G.W. Bush, and Trump Patrick Ryan Lee East Tennessee State University, USA Melanie B. Richards https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8452-2153 East Tennessee State University, USA Robert Andrew Dunn https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0415-6662 East Tennessee State University, USA

ABSTRACT

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In this analysis of public speeches from four American presidents from the Republican Party, the ways in which those presidents discuss and position American defense activities and stances are examined to track the progression from the 1960s to the present. Presidents chosen were from one party who also presided over a period of protracted armed confict or cold war. The addresses analyzed comprised public addresses to congress or the American people. The analysis groups recurring frames for each president. Some frames were more salient for certain presidents than for others. Other frames were common and consistently pervaded the presidents’ remarks to congress and the public. America’s struggle against a faceless enemy, American military might as a guarantor of peace, and the importance of the United States’ commitments to its international partners were all prevailing frames which emerged in the analysis.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch016

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 The Words of War

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INTRODUCTION In July 2017, fewer than six months into his first year as president, in an ABC News and Washington Post poll, 70 percent of respondents indicated that they found President Donald Trump’s actions unpresidential (Langer, 2017). In August of 2017, Trump twice threatened to meet North Korea’s nuclear ambitions with “fire and fury” (Hennigan et al., 2017, para. 1), leading the Los Angeles times to proclaim that the president was using “bellicose rhetoric usually associated with the rulers in Pyongyang” (Hennigan et al., 2017, para. 1). Descriptors such as “unpresidential” and “bellicose” are strong, unequivocal terms by which to describe a world leader. Trump, however, is not alone in these dubious distinctions. Trump’s Republican predecessor, George W. Bush garnered the same label (Blair, 2008; Napoleoni, 2003), even admitting himself that he had spoken too brashly about the war in Iraq (Blair, 2008). Other Republican presidents presiding over armed conflict have received the same treatment. Nixon was accused of playing a “death game” (Greenberg, 2004, p. 91) and was referred to as a “war criminal” (Greenberg, 2004, p. 91). Even Conservative hero Dwight D. Eisenhower does not escape the label of warmonger, although he is traditionally seen as a stabilizing and moderating presence in Republican foreign policy (Broadhead, 2009). What, then, is the reality? What is the truth of how these presidents—four men of the same office, from the same party, from the same wartime circumstances—speak about war? Is the “fire and fury” rhetoric employed by Donald Trump the normal state of Republican defense discussions? This study examines the frames through which American presidents—specifically modern Republican presidents—discuss the country’s defense situation, and tracks the progression and divergence of those messages. The words and phrases reiterated throughout the whole of a four or eight-year presidency, and the macro-level frames presented across an enormous corpus of presidential addresses can illuminate a great deal about how a country—and in this case a single political party—portray its defense. While studying presidential speech is an intrinsically political undertaking, this study was not intended to advocate or oppose policy positions, or lionize or vilify any president, party, or ideology. This study was designed to discover the frames that four American presidents from the same party use to talk about the way the United States conducts war, pursues peace, protects its territories and interests, and positions itself in matters of grave importance to the whole of humanity, during times of crisis. This study was also not designed to be an exposition of military history or the history of American foreign policy. While the subject matter is inherently historical, this study was intended to discover thematic patterns, should any exist. It should also be noted that the idea of the nation’s chief executive taking his message directly to the people in an attempt to mold public opinion—and in some cases force the hand of Congress—is a relatively new one. Jeffery Tullis (1987) argues that the concentrated use of public rhetoric by a president is a novel phenomenon with its genesis in Theodore Roosevelt’s bully pulpit, with previous heads of state preferring to remit written addresses directly to the Congress. As the country has moved into the more modern Presidential era, we have seen many Presidents communicate to the public in increasingly direct and less formal ways, typically with a goal of winning public support or approval (Whittington, 1997). This application to war talk has been brought about by two major modern revolutions: the loss of a localized audience due to proliferation of global media and the delocalization of war due to technological advancement and weapons of mass destruction (Booth, 2005). This analysis explores the ways that four modern presidents have laid their agendas on the altar of public opinion and seeks to answer the following research questions: 296

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RQ1: Are there common frames which Republican presidents use to discuss the defense activities of the United States? RQ2: Are there frames which Republican presidents use to discuss defense which are prevalent in the addresses of some presidents, but less salient in the addresses of other presidents? RQ3: Is Donald Trump’s approach to defense discussions in his national addresses typical of modern wartime Republican presidents?

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FRAMING THEORY Much of the research on framing jumps between seeing framing as a subset of agenda setting and being considered its own discrete field of study (Maher, 2001; Scheufele, 1999; Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009) Erving Goffman (1974) provides a basis for how framing functions. He claimed that people build broad schema by which to interpret information, called “primary frameworks” (p. 24). It is these frameworks that form the bedrock of framing theory. Much of our communication is marked by different presentations, geared toward these specific frameworks, in order to influence a desired interpretation (Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009). Framing theory rests on the notion that an issue can be received and interpreted in different ways by different audiences, depending on the way in which the information is presented or “framed” by the author or speaker (Chong & Druckman, 2007). Entman (1993) describes framing as a matter of controlling the salience of certain issues in a message, saying that “to frame is to select some aspects of perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote particular problem deðnition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation” (p. 52). Framing can also be seen as placing information into “interpretive packages” (Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009, p. 22). “At their most powerful, frames invite people to think about an issue in particular ways” (Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009, p. 19). Gamson and Modigliani (as cited in Gross, 2008) note that a frame provides “the essence of the issue” (Gross, 2008, p. 170). The frames by which issues are presented have a marked effect on shaping opinions on related issues (Gross, 2008). Framing thus places information into a specific and carefully chosen context “so that certain elements of the issue get a greater allocation of an individual’s cognitive resources” (Pan & Kosicki, 1993, p. 57) In the context of political communication, Jacoby (2000) notes that political elites- presidents, for example- have a great deal of control over the frames used to present issues, and therefore a pronounced effect on the perception of the issues at hand by the intended audience. In her study of episodic and thematic framing, which built upon Iyengar’s 1991 work, Gross (2008) explains the distinction between the episodic and thematic framing, a distinction that will be important to note when reading this analysis. She states: Episodic frames present an issue by offering a specific example, case study, or event oriented report (e.g., covering unemployment by presenting a story on the plight of a particular unemployed person). Thematic frames, on the other hand, place issues into a broader context (e.g., covering unemployment by reporting on the latest unemployment figures and offering commentary by economists or public officials on the impact of the economy on unemployment). (p. 171)

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As will be discussed later, the wide majority of the discussions of defense issues taken on by the presidential speeches analyzed in this study follow a thematic framing construct. Each president discusses American defense activities within the thematic constructs of fighting for peace and democracy, disarming great foes and nuclear regimes, and standing together with allies. Notably, Nixon and Bush also use episodic frames sparingly and Trump even more so, relating stories of individual soldiers in their speeches. Other noted studies have recently explored both episodic and thematic framing found in political and policy debates, demonstrating that this is an effective approach to understanding political speech (Aarøe, 2011; Boukes, 2021; Boukes et al., 2015; Hart, 2011; Springer & Harwood, 2015).

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GENERAL AND POLITICAL RHETORIC The elites Jacoby (2000) speaks of have powerful influence over the dissemination and presentation of information and can, as Jacoby notes, alter that presentation as they see fit to suit their interests. Vatz (1973) notes a similar idea, asserting that rhetoric is powerless absent the meaning assigned to it by the speaker. Vatz also notes that “No situation can have a nature independent of the perception of its interpreter or independent of the rhetoric with which he chooses to characterize it” (p. 154). Thus, the way that the speaker chooses to relay the information at hand has a great deal to do with how the information is intended to be received, processed, and acted upon by the audience. Where political rhetoric is concerned, the concept of political rhetorical coercion is introduced (Krebs & Jackson, 2007). This coercion model essentially states that rather than simply rely on the inherent efficacy of a claimant’s argument, the claimant attempts to remove the basis by which an opponent may craft a reasonable and socially acceptable rebuttal. The presidents included in this analysis function inside this model as the claimant, pitted against what in this case is a nebulous opposition: public opinion about the defense policies of the United States. These presidents and their administrations repeatedly lay out their vision for defense policies and proceed to argue cases for why the public ought to readily accept that characterization. Cohen (1995) also studied the effects of a politically-inclined claimant—the President of the United States, in this case—on the perceptions of issues by the audience. Cohen’s (1995) work clearly displays that the president’s attention to an issue, particularly within his State of the Union addresses does, in fact, increase the salience of that issue in the public policy agenda. And while substantive discussion of a particular policy point is important, it is not, strictly speaking, necessary to trigger public policy agenda effects: “The president does not have to convince the public that a policy problem is important by offering substantive positions. Merely mentioning a problem to the public heightens public concern with the policy problem” (Cohen, 1995, p. 102). It should be noted, too, that Cohen’s (1995) findings echo those of previous studies; presidential effect on public policy agenda is fleeting. Of note, however, is the one policy area in which Cohen found that this effect was not present: foreign policy. While presidential influence in other areas of public policy waxed and waned, the president’s effect on the salience of foreign policy—including defense concerns—was longer lasting (Cohen, 1995).

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METHODS The criteria by which the subjects were selected for this study is as follows: presidents were chosen who had presided over protracted armed conflict or a period of cold war, and, to track the progression of one party’s rhetoric surrounding United States defense policies, the subjects were limited to presidents from the Republican Party. Thus, the subjects chosen were Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, George W. Bush, and Donald J. Trump. George H. W. Bush was not included as Operation Desert Storm only lasted a total of 42 days. The study was limited to only Republican Presidents in order to hold party constant within the examination of frame similarities and differences over time. When comparing Republican to Democratic Presidents over a similar time period- stark differences can be readily seen in limited cases, notably between the Nixonian style of pinning the Vietnam War on his predecessor (Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, 1969b) and the self-flagellation of Carter’s reading of a catalog of his failings (Crisis of Confidence, 1979). When analyzing debates between Democrats and Republicans from 1976 to 2004 in a general sense, Republicans have also been found to rely more on “sacred rhetoric”, which pulls on “transcendent authority and moral outrage,” more commonly than their Democratic counterparts (Marietta, 2009; 388). However, when considered across the modern corpus of presidential addresses to the public, similar frames may hold largely true no matter the president’s party, as observed in Bush and Obama’s similar employ of the rhetoric of acquiescence in regard to war and conflict (Engels & Saas, 2013). Most often, scholars in this space have utilized a qualitative framing approach to content analysis in their work in relation to media framing of presidential rhetoric (Kuypers, 2006; 2002; 1997). Here though, we examine the frames the president is applying directly, not through a mediated frame, and apply both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis to examine the prepared and delivered remarks of these four Republican presidents of the United States regarding the country’s defense positioning. “Content analysis is a tool of qualitative research used to determine the presence and meaning of concepts, terms, or words in one or more pieces of recorded communication. This systematic and replicable technique allows for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding in order to allow researchers to make inferences about the author (individuals, groups, organizations, or institutions), the audience, and their culture and time.” (Stan, 2010, p. 225-226) Each president’s collection of addresses was read and examined for recurring frames surrounding the United States’ defense actions and policies. Qualitative content analysis methods were first applied by examining the Presidential speeches in context and applying open coding via a detailed, independent review by multiple coders, as outlined in Grounded Theory Methods (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Passages containing persistent frames were highlighted and marked independently by the authors with a shorthand code to designate which frame or frames the passage contained. Cross-comparison of coding efforts was completed after initial frame coding to achieve a high level of inter-coder reliability and thematic saturation. Initial frames were then agreed upon by the research team and discussed in further detail. Next, quantitative content analysis methods were applied by searching the available speeches for a variety of specific keywords identified in relation to each of the thematic frames found in open coding. Keyword counts as well as total overarching frame counts were then noted for discussion. Across the whole of a president’s material, occurrences of frames were finally totaled and compared to discover the prevalence of frames across the addresses.

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Examined Addresses To give the study as much consistency as possible, the speeches chosen for analysis were restricted to public speeches to both houses of Congress and public addresses to the American people. This included inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, Addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress, and farewell addresses. In the case of Richard Nixon’s presidency, a wildly unpredictable mixture exists of written and public messages, and separate defense-related messages supplementing a dearth of defense discussion in annual State of the Union addresses. As such, in Nixon’s case, for years in which he gave a State of the Union speech to a joint session, and that speech included defense-related discussion, that speech has been included in the analysis. The supplemental addresses given to inform the public of the state of the war in Vietnam have also been analyzed. Written messages and reports to congress were not included as this is an analysis of presidential speeches. Given the above criteria, the addresses chosen for analysis in this study are as follows: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first and second inaugural addresses, nine State of the Union addresses, and farewell address; Richard M. Nixon’s first and second inaugural addresses, three State of the Union addresses, and six other addresses to the nation regarding the state of the war in Vietnam; George W. Bush’s first and second inaugural addresses, Address to a Joint Session of Congress, seven State of the Union addresses, and farewell address; and Donald J. Trump’s inaugural address, Address to a Joint Session of Congress, and three State of the Union addresses. Transcripts of these speeches were copied from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and the University of California at Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project.

Thematic Coding After examining each president’s addresses for recurring thematic frames, the totals of those frames were compared to determine which frames were common to all presidents contained in the analysis, and which frames were specific to a single president. It will be useful to note that the tallies referenced later in the paper do not always equate to keyword counts. The frames identified in this study encompass broader concepts as opposed to keywords, and thus a single frame typically contains several keywords underneath its umbrella. The numbers referenced in the following table and later in the chapter, unless explicitly noted as a keyword count, reference the number of larger passages which concern the frame referenced.

RESULTS

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Frames Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961 Military Readiness In the first of his addresses to the American people, his 1953 inaugural address, Eisenhower states that a ready military is a high calling for the nation, appealing to the national pride saying, “Patriotism means equipped forces and a prepared citizenry” (Eisenhower, 1953a). He sets the tone for a constant discussion of what emerges as his most prevalent frame. Across his addresses, there are 48 references that illuminate Eisenhower’s preoccupation with the state of preparedness of the American military.

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Table 1. Frames/Subframes Presented by Each Speaker and Total Occurrences Frame Goal of Peace/Peace Talks

Code

Eisenhower

Nixon

Bush

Trump

Total

PE/PT

44

94

9

6

153

Commitment to Allies

CA

40

30

26

10

106

Military Readiness, Superiority, Troop Numbers

MR, MS, TN

63

16

4

8

91

Threat of Nuclear Weapons/Weapons of Mass Destruction

NW/WMD

35

7

40

6

88

Evils of Terrorism/ Sponsors of Terrorism

TR/ST

46

8

54

Costs of Defense

DC

38

5

7

1

51

Communism as Evil

CE

26

16

Democracy/Sowing Democracy

DE

1

8

Homeland Security (including border security/defense against illegal immigration)

HS

10 14

Russia (as concern)

RU

Withdrawal/”Vietnamization”

WD

America as a global leader

AL

Casualties of battle

CS

Resolve, despite adversity

RE

Necessity of freedom

FR

6

Humanitarian effort

HU

2

Extremism/Radicalism as wrong

EX

Justice as necessary

JU

Stability as goal (in region)

SR

Intelligence as valuable

IT

Battlefield Situation

BS

11

2

44

32

2

43

12

10

32

1

1

27

1

42

1

17

41 6

8

2

13

13 12

4

1

13

6

12

4

2

12

7

2

9

4

5

9

8

8 4 1

4 1

Note: Frames/subframes and individual keyword counts, which are referenced later in this chapter, are not equivalent. Multiple keywords or repetitions of a keyword may be used in a single frame.

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Eisenhower’s discussion of military readiness is framed most predominantly as a matter of deterrence rather than a means of first-strike aggression. In the 1953 inaugural address, Eisenhower states that developing the ability to dissuade aggressors and thereby avoid war, by sheer presence of a powerful retaliatory force, will be his new administration’s first task: Abhorring war as a chosen way to balk the purposes of those who threaten us, we hold it to be the first task of statesmanship to develop the strength that will deter the forces of aggression and promote the conditions of peace. (Eisenhower, 1953a)

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Peace Forty-two times in the examined addresses Eisenhower presents passages concerned with peace. In his first inaugural address, in 1953, he states that it is in the ultimate service of peace that America goes to war (Eisenhower, 1953a). Then, in his 1958 State of the Union address, he turns to speak to the people of the world, proclaiming that peace is the only way forward: Our greatest hope for success lies in a universal fact: the people of the world, as people, have always wanted peace and want peace now. The problem, then, is to find a way of translating this universal desire into action. This will require more than words of peace. It requires works of peace. (Eisenhower, 1958) It is no accident that the frame most often discussed in Eisenhower’s addresses after that of military readiness is the cause of peace; two kindred concepts in his mind. Often Eisenhower’s discussion of military readiness serving as a deterrent to war and outside aggression is framed in the context of such power guaranteeing peace. The pursuit of peace itself, Eisenhower points out, can also be its own potent weapon in the countering of foreign aggression.

Commitment to Allies Only marginally less pervasive than the matter of peace in Eisenhower’s addresses, is the frame of a commitment to one’s allies. He broaches the subject of honoring these agreements 40 times in the analyzed works. Commitment to allies was so important to Eisenhower that it is one of the few defense and security-related frames that appear in his first inaugural address, where he notes that: Assessing realistically the needs and capacities of proven friends of freedom, we shall strive to help them to achieve their own security and well-being. Likewise, we shall count upon them to assume, within the limits of their resources, their full and just burdens in the common defense of freedom. (Eisenhower, 1953a)

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The Cost of Defense It is unsurprising that in a body of addresses comprising predominantly State of the Union addresses, the president’s remarks should turn to budgetary concerns. Eisenhower is no exception, and the country’s defense situation was of particular fiscal concern for him. In all, 38 passages involve the staggering cost of maintaining a high state of readiness, exponentially expanding firepower, and manpower numbers. During his first administration, Eisenhower focused on the cost of defense often in his first four State of the Union addresses. In his first State of the Union address, Eisenhower calls for both military power and sound fiscal practices, saying, “…the Secretary of Defense must take the initiative and assume the responsibility for developing plans to give our Nation maximum safety at minimum cost (emphasis added)” (1953b). He states in the same address that the task before the nation is one of a balance between battlefield efficacy and balance-sheet efficiency. The next year, he notes that progress has been made in the quest to maintain the equilibrium between force and finance (Eisenhower, 1954). In his 1955 and 1956 State of the Union addresses, he again states that military power has been added, while costs have been decreased (Eisenhower, 1955; 1956). 302

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Nuclear Weapons Eisenhower takes time to discuss nuclear weaponry and the arms race brewing with the Soviet Union 36 times across the addresses analyzed. In fact, he is not long in framing the Soviet possession of those weapons as a grave peril to American security as he declares the need for robust civil preparedness (Eisenhower, 1955). The only fortification against the rising Soviet nuclear specter, Eisenhower states is the Soviet knowledge of the United States’ possession of and willingness to unleash a nuclear arsenal: To protect our nations and our peoples from the catastrophe of a nuclear holocaust, free nations must maintain countervailing military power to persuade the Communists of the futility of seeking their ends through aggression. (Eisenhower, 1955) As with many defense concepts, Eisenhower situates American nuclear capabilities as a deterrent, and a guarantor of peace, as well as taking the opportunity to remind a would-be aggressor of the power at his disposal. Eisenhower thus exhibits a dual mind toward nuclear weaponry and its use. Understanding the terrible power that nuclear superpowers wield, he discusses the need for disarmament, while at the same time clinging tightly to America’s nuclear arsenal.

Communism as an Enemy In his sixth State of the Union address, delivered in 1958, Eisenhower said quite early in the address that there will only be two topics addressed in the speech, one of which is “to ensure our safety through strength” (Eisenhower, 1958). Eisenhower is not long in unequivocally stating what he believes most aggressively places that safety in peril: “The threat to our safety, and to the hope of a peaceful world, can be simply stated. It is communist imperialism” (Eisenhower, 1958). Eisenhower expresses disappointment and disillusionment in the post-war years, contrasting the hopes for peace with the reality of tension, which he blames on communism. In his 1954 State of the Union address, Eisenhower said that communism is the primary barrier to freedom. It is not only the threat of global militant communism that worries Eisenhower. The threat of communist ideals influencing the American citizenry presses on Eisenhower’s mind in his 1954 State of the Union address:

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We should recognize by law a fact that is plain to all thoughtful citizens-that we are dealing here with actions akin to treason--that when a citizen knowingly participates in the Communist conspiracy he no longer holds allegiance to the United States. (Eisenhower, 1954). He repeats this concern the next year in the 1955 State of the Union address. Eisenhower also places emphasis on the need to protect allies from the same subversion; “In Asia, we shall continue to give help to nations struggling to maintain their freedom against the threat of Communist coercion or subversion” (Eisenhower, 1955).

Frames used by Richard M. Nixon: 1969-1974 A 2003 analysis (Jacobs et al.) yielded many of the same results as this study did. Namely, the prevalence with which Nixon discussed key defense issues by way of a few broad frames. Jacobs et al. found that of 303

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the most heavily recurrent policy frames that Nixon discussed, five were directly defense related. Four of those five were also predominant in the addresses analyzed here: détente and arms control, peace in Vietnam, military action against North Vietnam, defense spending, and troop withdrawal. Of those policy frames, only defense spending was not a heavy focus of Nixon’s analyzed addresses for this study (Jacobs et al., 2003).

A Lasting Peace By a wide margin, the most persistent single frame of the whole of Nixon’s discussions of defense and national security is the pursuit of peace. This is unsurprising for a president presiding over “America’s longest war” (Herring, 1979). Nixon broaches the subject of peace 55 times. He does so very early on, in his first inaugural address. “For the first time, because the people of the world want peace, and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on the side of peace.” (Nixon, 1969a) By the time of his inauguration in 1969, the United States had been wrapped up in Vietnam since 1950 (Herring, 1979). After 19 years of involvement in a foreign country, Americans were ready for peace. He firmly settles the cause of peace as the highest that a nation can strive toward, saying, “The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker” (Nixon, 1969a). Nixon, like Eisenhower, speaks of America’s military power as an instrument of peace in the world, rather than a force for aggression. He states that “Strong military defenses are not the enemy of peace; they are the guardians of peace” (Nixon, 1972). Nixon calls for not simply peace in the current conflict, but a peace that will last. Introducing what will come to be a continuous subframe in his speeches, Nixon declares in his inaugural address, “Let us take as our goal: Where peace is unknown, make it welcome; where peace is fragile, make it strong; where peace is temporary, make it permanent” (Nixon, 1969a). In expressing his desire for such a peace, Nixon presses on the nation’s war-weariness, noting that the country has been at war for nearly the whole of the 20th century (1970a). Again and again, Nixon strikes this chord throughout his presidency.

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Peace Negotiations While in many cases, the frames of peace itself and the negotiations which lead to peace might justifiably be combined; Nixon devotes so much time to the negotiations for peace during the war in Vietnam, that it becomes prudent to discuss each as its own subframe. Nixon discusses the negotiations ongoing with the communist government in Hanoi 39 times over these 11 addresses. It seems a natural progression that a wartime president so preoccupied with peace, and with ending the war, would also allocate a disproportionate amount of his discussion of the war to the frame of peace talks. To usher in the peace he seeks, Nixon begins calls for negotiations to end the war in his first address, announcing: After a period of confrontation, we are entering an era of negotiation. Let all nations know that during this administration our lines of communication will be open…. We cannot expect to make everyone our friend, but we can try to make no one our enemy. (Nixon, 1969a)

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Vietnamization While as its own thematic category the Nixon Doctrine is not a predominant frame throughout the speeches included in this analysis, its subframe of Vietnamization very much is (Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization, 2007). Sixteen times in these addresses Nixon discusses Vietnamization—the training of South Vietnamese forces by American forces, or the transfer of responsibility from the United States to South Vietnam. America has, for too long, Nixon said, assumed undue responsibility for the safety and security of other nations: The defense of freedom is everybody’s business—not just America’s business. And it is particularly the responsibility of the people whose freedom is threatened. In the previous administration, we Americanized the war in Vietnam. In this administration, we are Vietnamizing the search for peace. (Nixon, 1969b)

Withdrawal of Troops The frame of withdrawal of troops is again best expressed as a subframe of the larger frame of the Nixon Doctrine and is closely related to the subframe of Vietnamization. Nixon specifically references the drawdown of troops some 25 times over the course of his addresses. The bulk of those references to withdrawal come in two addresses: his Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam and the 1970 Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia (Nixon, 1969b; 1970b). In those speeches, he discusses troop withdrawal 11 times and nine times, respectively. Often Nixon frames withdrawal in terms of the certain disaster that would result from withdrawing too early, before Vietnamization has reached a sustainable and self-sufficient threshold. He notes that, “For the future of peace, precipitate withdrawal would thus be a disaster of immense magnitude” (Nixon, 1969b). Premature withdrawal would, Nixon said, cause the collapse of South Vietnam, and send a message to American allies that the United States has forsaken them, violating the first tenet of the Nixon Doctrine. “For these reasons,” Nixon said, “I rejected the recommendation that I should end the war by immediately withdrawing all of our forces” (Nixon, 1969b). He continues later, noting that because Vietnamization has been successful, some American troops have been able to leave Vietnam. Related, the increasing strength and facility of the South Vietnamese forces is a prerequisite for the continued escalation of American withdrawals.

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Frames used by George W. Bush: 2001-2009 George W. Bush’s addresses are replete—like Nixon’s—with discussions of the security of the United States, and its defense initiatives abroad. That is unsurprising, given the climate of most of Bush’s tenure as president, marked by the attacks of September 11, 2001. Terrorism and the war on terror, weapons of mass destruction, sowing democracy, and American commitments abroad are the foremost frames Bush uses during his presidency.

The War on Terror In his first address to Congress, George W. Bush describes an America “at peace with its neighbors…” In those nascent days of his first administration, Bush does not present an appraisal of an America in 305

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danger. His presentation of the dangers of the world are more general, acknowledging that bad actors exist, and America must be prepared to aid the world in combating them, saying Our Nation…needs a clear strategy to confront the threats of the 21st century, threats that are more widespread and less certain. They range from terrorists who threaten with bombs to tyrants in rogue nations intent upon developing weapons of mass destruction. (Bush, 2001) After that statement—which includes what will turn out to be prescient references to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction—Bush moves on to economic issues and does not revisit defense concerns for the remainder of the address, except in the most general of terms (2001). The next year’s address to Congress was markedly different. “As we gather tonight,” Bush begins, “our nation is at war; our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers” (Bush, 2002). The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the combat actions that resulted from those attacks serve as the backdrop for all George W. Bush’s addresses to the Congress and the nation. Bush begins his seven-year discussion of an America at war with terrorism, on a triumphant note. “Thanks to [American troops],” Bush boldly declares, “we are winning the war on terror” (Bush, 2002). He then presents a protracted list of the tactical victories won against terrorist adversaries since September of the previous year (Bush, 2002). Despite those victories, Bush continues by noting the preponderance of worldwide terrorist activity. Bush then makes a statement which tidily summarizes his belief that, much like Eisenhower’s vendetta against communism, the existence of terrorists anywhere in the world is incompatible with the existence of a free society: “These enemies view the entire world as a battlefield, and we must pursue them wherever they are.” (Bush, 2002). In this way, Lordan states that Bush effectively reframes a specific enemy as the much larger concept of terrorism within his rhetoric, which can then be broadly applied to “a number of individuals, groups, causes, even methods” (Lordan, 2010, p. 268). Terrorism, its enablers, and its practitioners preoccupy his discussions of defense for the remainder of his time in office.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

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One of the most prevalent frames Bush uses to discuss the threats facing the United States during this period is what Bush refers to as “weapons of mass destruction.” Early in his first administration Bush makes reference to what he means by the term, saying “…we must prevent the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world” (Bush, 2002). Between isolated talk of nuclear weapons and the more frequent and broader discussions of weapons of mass destruction, Bush dedicates 40 passages across 10 addresses to the danger they pose.

Sowing Democracy Another frame, by which Bush enters discussions of the ongoing war in the Middle East, is to position America’s role in the fighting as a catalyst for democracy in the region. Among Bush’s addresses, 32 passages relate to the United States’ fight for the right of others to self-determination. Bush makes mention of the necessity of democracy in several addresses, but in none more heavily than in his 2005 State of the Union address. A large proportion of this address is dedicated to the concept of democracy, and the nobility of America’s fight to create the conditions for it to thrive (Bush, 2005). 306

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Repeatedly, Bush declares the United States’ intention to install or, at the very least, catalyze democracies in places where tyranny is the rule of law. “Our aim,” Bush claims, “is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures” (Bush, 2005).

American Commitments Abroad In his first inaugural address in 2001, George W. Bush delivers a line that sounds as if it were pulled straight from the Nixon Doctrine: “We will defend our allies and our interests.” Twenty-six times in all, Bush returns to America’s commitments to its partners, reinforcing and reiterating the idea that America will hold up its responsibilities in the defense and liberation of the Middle East, and especially in Iraq. And, much like Nixon’s Vietnamization plan, Bush’s discussion of America’s relationships with its partners in the region—most notably the Iraqi security forces—is at turns framed around the idea of America’s diminishing involvement as local forces become better trained to take responsibility for their own security. In the 2005 counterpart to Nixon’s Vietnamization, as the Bush administration settles into its second act, much of Bush’s talk of allies and alliances is focused on the transfer of responsibilities to local Iraqi security forces, but not without a great deal of forethought and planning. A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison, would put men like bin Laden and Zarqawi in charge of a strategic country, and show that a pledge from America means little. (Bush, 2006)

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Frames used by Donald J. Trump: 2017-2021 Donald J. Trump is the most recent Republican President included in our analysis. Trump served only one term, stepping down as President on January 20, 2021, when Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. Because of Trump’s relatively shorter time in office versus the other presidents selected for this analysis, less of the addresses delivered by Trump fit the criteria for inclusion in this analysis. In addition, because of Trump’s so-termed “isolationist” ideologies, less time appears to be dedicated to defense and foreign policy concerns compared with other presidents in comparable circumstances (Houghton, 2018; Lin, 2017). Still, based upon the current world climate and Trump’s role as the most recent Republican President of the United States in a time of global crisis, it seemed highly prudent to include him in this analysis. Trump’s defense-related focus seems to be primarily on the danger of terrorism, including both terrorism originating abroad and homeland security concerns related to illegal/undocumented immigration. In his 2017 inaugural address, the lone discussion of defense is a reference to terrorism, and “radical Islamic terrorism” specifically, which he again references directly in his 2020 State of the Union speech (Trump, 2017a; 2020). In his 2018, 2019, and 2020 State of the Union speeches, he spends a considerable amount of time discussing the dangers of illegal immigration, as well as fighting terrorist activity abroad, including the military missions related to eradicating known terrorist leaders al-Baghdadi and Qasem Soleimani (Trump, 2018; 2019; 2020). Trump strikes a strong tone and projects American strength and resolve, most noticeably with the promise to eradicate radical Islamic terrorism and to protect homeland security through both immigration reform and stronger border security. Other emerging frames in his

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addresses include commitment to allies and the United States military’s readiness to respond to threats (including threat of nuclear war).

Terrorist Threats Abroad Across five speeches, Trump mentions “terrorism” or “terrorist” 16 times (Trump, 2017a; 2017b; 2018; 2019; 2020). In the 2017 address to the joint session of Congress, Trump devotes a slightly larger portion of the address to defense concerns. It is noteworthy, however, that his defense discussion in this address is still markedly shorter than those of his contemporaries in this analysis. He does, however, frame his primary concern in terms of “radical Islamic terrorism” and asserts that “we cannot allow our Nation to become a sanctuary for extremists” (Trump, 2017b). Trump’s condemnation of fundamentalist movements as an existential threat to America and the world continues as he, with brutally unequivocal language, describes the Islamic State group as “a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all faiths and beliefs” (Trump, 2017b). Trump revisits this frame in his 2020 State of the Union speech when again discussing the threat of “radical Islamic terrorism” and previous killings of two Americans by al-Baghdadi and Soleimani (Trump, 2020).

Immigration/Border Security Across the five speeches analyzed, Trump uses the word “border” 37 times, generally in reference to border security, and the word “immigration” 22 times, typically in reference to immigration reform positioned as necessary for defense. Though at times he uses both terms in reference to economic outcomes, more often he positions border security as a more direct defense need. In his 2017 address to the Joint Session of Congress, he states: We’ve defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross -- and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate. (Trump, 2017b). He reiterates this frame in future State of the Union speeches as well and frequently draws parallels between illegal immigration and terrorist activity. For example, stating in 2019, “Year after year, countless Americans are murdered by criminal illegal aliens” (Trump, 2019).

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Commitment to Allies In the analyzed speeches, Trump mentions the word “allies” or “alliance” 16 times (Trump, 2017b; 2017a; 2018; 2019; 2020). Trump also uses his second address, following in the grand tradition, to affirm a commitment to America’s partners. And, in that same tradition, to reaffirm the American insistence that each country take its equal share of the burden: We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two World Wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated communism. But our partners must meet their financial obligations. (Trump, 2017b)

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Trump again devotes little time to defense in his 2018 State of the Union address. He returns to perennial concerns—terrorism and America’s commitment to its allies—but adds new frames for his administration: nuclear weapons and military readiness as a deterrent. Terrorism is couched in familiar terms for Trump in this address, calling them “evil,” promising to “annihilate them,” and to “extinguish them,” (Trump, 2018). In his 2019 State of the Union address, he discusses the nation’s work with allies “to destroy the remnants of ISIS” and again reinforces the need for allies to “pay their fair share” in regard to defense spending under NATO, an idea he also revisits in his 2020 State of the Union speech (Trump, 2019; 2020). He also frequently discusses America as a global leader and advocate for freedom, as well as a loyal friend to countries pursuing freedom (e.g., Venezuala), in both his 2019 and 2020 State of the Union speeches (Trump, 2019; 2020).

Military Might as Protection from Threat of Nuclear War As another area of concern to the Trump administration, the nuclear weapons frame so predominant in the addresses of Eisenhower—and to a lesser extent, Bush—surfaces. He specifically mentions nuclear weapons eight times across his State of the Union addresses from 2018 through 2020 (Trump, 2018; 2019; 2020), and he mentions war in relation to this 12 times in his speeches from 2017 to 2020 (Trump, 2017b; 2019; 2020). In a statement reminiscent of Eisenhower’s wary hopes for disarmament, Trump states: As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression. Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet. (Trump, 2018)

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He additionally positions North Korea as one of America’s most adversarial world neighbors and sounds a refrain of nuclear fear regarding the country (Trump, 2017b). In response to this threat, Trump discusses America’s military might and superiority as a safeguard against attack. As part of our military build-up, the United States is developing a state-of-the-art Missile Defense System. Under my administration, we will never apologize for advancing America’s interests. For example, decades ago the United States entered into a treaty with Russia in which we agreed to limit and reduce our missile capabilities. While we followed the agreement to the letter, Russia repeatedly violated its terms. That is why I announced that the United States is officially withdrawing from the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty. Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement, adding China and others, or perhaps we can’t–-in which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far. (Trump, 2019) Donald Trump’s defense discussions in these addresses, as noted earlier, are a departure from the lengthier foreign policy missives of his contemporaries. His supposed isolationism could play a role in that, though he does, in some speeches, assert his desire to build partnerships. Those discussions he does engage in sound familiar refrains: terrorism (a frequent frame for Bush), American commitments to its allies, the threat of nuclear war, and a proclamation of military superiority that can dismantle this threat. Though overall Trump makes fewer mentions of peace in his addresses compared to his predecessors, 309

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he does note that, “We want peace, wherever peace can be found” (Trump, 2017b) and that “after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace” (Trump, 2019).

DISCUSSION Research Question 1 RQ1: Are there common frames which Republican presidents use to discuss the defense activities of the United States? The study yielded an unequivocal answer to this question: a resounding yes. The following are three ways in which the four presidents included in this analysis all frame their discussions of warfare, defense, and security.

A Better World Each president included in this analysis makes America’s military action and policies a precursor to peace, stability, justice, democracy, or freedom. Over the course of the addresses studied, each of the speakers addresses the ways in which America must go to war in order to ensure a more peaceful world. Taken as a whole, it becomes clear that these presidents want American military actions to be seen as serving the purpose of securing a more peaceful, free, and fair world. Eisenhower (Eisenhower, 1958) notes that peace is the great aim of all the peoples of the world, and that action must be taken to secure that peace. Nixon declares that no greater honor can be bestowed on a country than the title of peacemaker (Nixon, 1969a). Bush sings the praises of the burgeoning democracies all over the Middle East and frames American involvement as the catalyst by which they take root and expand. Even in Trump’s few mentions of peace, he declares that he wants peace wherever it can be found and appears to take pride in his role as peacemaker (i.e., between Israel and Palestine) (Trump, 2018; 2020). The presidents studied here use their addresses to guide their audiences toward a vision of an America dedicated to using its military power and potent defense establishment not for imperial aims, but in the service of this better world.

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A Great Enemy Also shared among the speeches of all presidents in this study is the existence of a great foe against which America is fighting for its way of life, its safety, and its continued prosperity. Some adversary against whom the full weight of American resolve must be thrown is common to all four presidents analyzed for this study. For some presidents that enemy is faceless, as is the case in Eisenhower’s speeches on communism, and Bush and Trump’s treatises on terrorism. Nixon, on the other hand, focused America’s military might against a clear foe, the North Vietnamese army and their Viet Cong contemporaries. That said, Nixon also focused on the threat of Communism, though certainly to a lesser degree than Eisenhower. All foes addressed in this analysis though, both nebulous and concrete, in some way threaten America, her allies, and the whole of humanity.

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A Firm Friend The third common thread woven among all the addresses in this study is the constant affirmation of the United States’ firm commitments to its allies. Even in several cases where the underlying tone is one of insisting that American partners abroad shoulder more of the burden of their own defense, the presidents in this study are quick to remind America’s allies that the country will honor its pledges. Eisenhower lauds the United Nations and the United States place in the coalition, and warns that an American neglect of any of its partners could lead neophyte nations to seek help from countries discordant with American ideals and interests (Eisenhower, 1960; 1954). Nixon so values American commitments to allied nations that he makes that pledge the focus of the Nixon Doctrine (Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization, 2007). Bush praises the coalition against global terrorism, declaring that the alliance is necessary to secure peace and freedom in the world, and affirming America’s resolute commitment (Bush, 2001). Donald Trump sings the praises of robust global defense partnerships (Trump, 2017b) and praises NATO, especially as he views increasing equity in the alliance, as well as the coalition against the Islamic State group (Trump, 2017b; 2019; 2020).

Research Question 2 RQ2: Are there frames which Republican presidents use to discuss defense which are prevalent in the addresses of some presidents, but less salient in the addresses of other presidents? Again, the answer to this research question was also “yes”. Though the frames discussed previously were replayed over and over again across time, there were also select frames used by only one or a few of the presidents in this analysis.

Eisenhower’s Just Peace

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In his discussions of the pursuit of peace—a frame common to all the presidential speeches studied here—Dwight Eisenhower leans heavily not only on the idea of peace, but on the subtheme of a “just peace” or a “peace with justice.” This concept exists under the auspices of the better world frame discussed above—though it is salient only in Eisenhower’s addresses. Other presidents make passing mention of just peace, but Eisenhower uses the phrase repeatedly. The most daunting issue with this idea is that this usage seems to be a purely rhetorical device, void of real substance. When it is used, no concrete context is provided as to what the president intends. Even the scholarship on jus post bellum (a Latin phrase meaning “justice after war”) is inconclusive on exactly what constitutes a just peace: …jus post bellum is ‘‘the least developed part of just war theory,’’ as Walzer (2004:161) notes. In spite of the many studies that have appeared concerning war crimes tribunals, truth commissions, and other strategies for achieving justice in the aftermath of conflict, general principles of justice such as those embodied in the just war tradition are absent. (Williams & Caldwell, 2006, p. 311) Thus, it is possible that this notion of a “just peace” is intended primarily to undergird the assertions from Eisenhower that American power will not be used to subjugate or usher in a new age of American imperialism. 311

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Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction Eisenhower devotes quite a bit of time in his addresses to the dangers of nuclear war, at turns calling for disarmament, and in the next breath declaring—with uncharacteristic bravado—that America will not relinquish its nuclear weapons while other nations retain theirs. Trump echoes that statement nearly 60 years later, asserting nearly the exact same thing: a wish for a nuclear-free world, but rooted in the reality of a world marked by proliferation rather than arms limitation. Bush frames much of America’s defense activities as a bulwark against the dangers of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, a finding also discussed by Bahador, et al. (2018). The outlier to an extent, then, is Nixon. While he does discuss nuclear weapons in some capacity, they are by no means a focus of his efforts to frame defense. Aside from being a part of the second tenet of the Nixon Doctrine, nuclear arms play a surprisingly small role in the Nixonian defense priorities. He simply does not devote much of his addresses to the cataclysm of nuclear weapons.

Democracy George W. Bush constantly frames American military action as a prerequisite for the successful germination of democracy in the world. He also positions the presence of democracy in other parts of the world as being of vital concern to American safety and security, both at home and abroad. While Nixon, Eisenhower, and Trump do broach the subject of the importance of democracy around the world, they do not dedicate nearly as much time to the idea as Bush does. Even when they do, the underlying idea in their discussions of democracy seems to be juxtaposed against communism, rather than pursuing the ideology for its own sake, and thus the topic is relegated to passing statements.

Trump’s Border Defense

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Though Eisenhower and Bush also employ the frame of homeland security, Trump is the only President to focus on defense of the nation’s physical borders from illegal immigrants, with an especially intense focus on the security of the Southern geographical border. He discusses this need across all of his speeches to some extent, but particularly in his 2019 State of the Union address, where he uses the terms “border” 14 times and “immigration” four times, referring to border security and immigration reform. This timing was strategic, as at the time of the 2019 speech he was seeking Congressional approval for increased funding for border security. Many times Trump appears to draw a parallel between “illegal immigration” and “terrorism,” equating negative effects of each. Again, based on Trump’s isolationist leaning, a greater focus on defense through border security appears in line with his larger ideology.

Research Question 3 R3: Is Donald Trump’s approach to defense discussions in his national addresses typical of modern wartime Republican presidents? The response to this question is multi-faceted. Trump’s addresses lack a general depth of discussion of defense-related issues compared to his predecessors. In that sense, his approach to defense is atypical in comparison to that of his contemporaries. Another frame that somewhat delineates Trump from his predecessors is that of border defense (through immigration reform and enhanced border security), and 312

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yet his framing of this topic is closely aligned with how he and his predecessors speak of terrorist activity and the great enemy. In the additional time Trump dedicates to defense in these addresses, he again leverages the same frames as his predecessors: the great enemy, the need for peace, and America’s commitment to its allies. In this way, the frames he uses are typical of modern wartime Republican presidents.

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CONCLUSION As noted in the introductory section of this study, examining four Republican presidents allows us to discover similarities and differences for a particular political ideology during periods of crises over time. To that end, the authors asked three questions. The answers to those three questions provide a clear picture. Across four men, elected to seven presidential terms spanning close to 25 years in office and 67 years of United States history, and each presiding over a period of active armed conflict, the broad frames which American presidents use to discuss defense are vastly similar: They galvanize the country and the congress against a great foe; they proclaim that the virtue of American military action lies in its service of a more just and peaceful world; and they make strident pronouncements of commitment to American pledges and alliances the world over. Four men’s speeches were analyzed, and four men’s speeches were marked by these three frames, repeatedly. There are also frames which appear or disappear entirely based on the time period in which a given president governed and based on the world’s temperament and the state of larger American foreign policy at the time. Some presidents, such as Donald Trump, use markedly more bombastic language than others. Not surprisingly, owing to the vacillations of turmoil and peace that have marked American society and the global defense climate in the years since Dwight D. Eisenhower’s election, there are frames used by some presidents that are either altogether absent or discussed only in cursory terms. The utility of this study lies in its ability to gauge the consistency or the change in the way that Americans are informed about their country’s defense. Elites, such as presidents, have a marked effect on the salience of issues in the public agenda (Jacoby, 2000) and that effect is even more pronounced when the subject at hand is related to foreign policy (Cohen, 1995). It is useful, then, to have a sense of what the country’s chief executive and commander-in-chief tells the citizens about how and why the nation conducts war in the way that it does. It may well be that these frames reflect true perennial concerns for the American defense establishment, and thus deserve constant affirmation and attention from the nation’s highest office. American citizens would also do well, however, to recognize the power that the speaker holds over the interpretation of the message. Until the speaker deems the object worthy of exposition, and imbues it with his chosen attributes (McCombs et al, 1997) the message has no meaning (Vatz, 1973). If anything, the inquiry that served as the catalyst for this research, the question of the normality of Donald Trump’s war rhetoric, is answered. Outside of immigration reform and border security, the larger frames Trump uses remain the same across the whole corpus of these addresses. From Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953 to the closing words of Donald Trump’s 2020 Address to the Nation on the State of the Union, the way that modern wartime Republican presidents have talked about war is remarkably similar. Though Trump has been known to use more bombastic language in informal communications, this is also not uncharted territory for Presidents. Even Democratic president and acclaimed orator Bill Clinton was also recognized for using emotionally colored language in his more informal addresses to the public (Whittington, 1997). Truly, since Theodore Roosevelt ushered in the rise of a rhetorical presi313

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dency (Tullis, 1987), Republican and Democrat presidents alike have used impassioned and empowered rhetoric to steer the nation’s conception of various issues. Eisenhower railed against communism, Nixon against the intransigence of the Viet Cong, Bush against terroristic religious fanaticism and Trump against despotic regimes. Future inquiry would do well to examine the ways that Democratic presidents have also taken their messages to the public in an attempt to guide the national mood and set the larger American agenda, comparing their rhetoric both intra and inter-party. From Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) and Jimmy Carter’s famed Crisis of Confidence speech (1979), to Bill Clinton’s various remarks on the persistent Russian threat in the Baltic states (1999a, 1999b) and Barack Obama’s justification of military action against Afghanistan and Pakistan (2009), Democratic presidents have made equally prolific use of direct appeals to the public to galvanize the populace and garner support. How, if at all, their frames may differ from their Republican counterparts would be an excellent next step in analysis to build upon this study’s findings. For now, this study brings into focus a clear picture of the reality of the public defense agenda flowing from the office of the modern Republican president: the messenger may change, but the message framing remains the same.

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Kuypers, J. (2002). Press Bias and Politics: How the Media Frame Controversial Issues. Praeger. Kuypers, J. (2006). Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age. Rowman and Littlefield. Langer, G. (2017, July 17). Public to Trump: Lay off the Twitter (POLL). ABC News. https://abcnews. go.com/Politics/public-trump-lay-off-twitter-poll/story?id=48641500 Lin, S. (2017, December 1). The public costs of grand strategy in the Trump era. World Affairs, 179(3), 4–23. doi:10.1177/0043820016689516 Lordan, E. J. (2010). The Case for Combat: How Presidents Persuade Americans to Go to War. Praeger. Maher, T. M. (2001). Framing: An Emerging Paradigm or a Phase of Agenda Setting. In S. D. Reese, O. H. Gandy Jr, & A. E. Grant (Eds.), Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World (pp. 83–94). Routledge. Marietta, M. (2009). The Absolutist Advantage: Sacred Rhetoric in Contemporary Presidential Debate. Political Communication, 26(4), 388–411. doi:10.1080/10584600903296986 McCombs, M. E., Shaw, D. L., & Weaver, D. H. (1997). Communication and Democracy: Exploring the Intellectual Frontiers in Agenda-setting Theory. Erlbaum. Napoleoni, L. (2003). Modern Jihad: The Islamist Crusade. SAIS Review (Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies), 23(2), 53–69. Nixon, R. (1969a). Inaugural Address. The American Presidency Project: https://www.presidency.ucsb. edu/documents/inaugural-address-1 Nixon, R. (1969b). Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam. The Miller Center: https://millercenter. org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/november-3-1969-address-nation-war-vietnam Nixon, R. (1970a). State of the Union Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/january-22-1970-state-union-address Nixon, R. (1970b). Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia. The Miller Center: https:// millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/april-30-1970-address-nation-situation-southeastasia

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Nixon, R. (1972). State of the Union Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/january-20-1972-state-union-address Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization. (2007, July 22). U.S. Fed News Service. https://search-proquest-com. iris.etsu.edu:3443/docview/471292735/E6CF8DE466A64CB7PQ/4?accountid=10771 Obama, B. (2009). Speech on Strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Miller Center: https://millercenter. org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-1-2009-speech-strategy-afghanistan-and-pakistan Roosevelt, F. D. (1941). Address to Congress Requesting a Declaration of War. The Miller Center: https:// millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-8-1941-address-congress-requestingdeclaration-war

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Scheufele, D. A. (1999, Winter). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication, •••, 103–122. Springer, S. A., & Harwood, J. (2015). The influence of episodic and thematic frames on policy and group attitudes: Mediational analysis. Human Communication Research, 41(2), 226–244. doi:10.1111/ hcre.12045 Stan, L. (2010). Content Analysis. In A. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Case Study Research (pp. 225–226). Tewksbury, D., & Scheufele, D. A. (2009). News framing theory and research. In J. Bryant & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (3rd ed., pp. 17–33). Routledge. Trump, D. (2017a). Inaugural Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/january-20-2017-inaugural-address Trump, D. (2017b). Address to Joint Session of Congress. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/ the-presidency/presidential-speeches/february-28-2017-address-joint-session-congress Trump, D. (2018). State of the Union Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/january-30-2018-state-union-address Trump, D. (2019). State of the Union Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/february-5-2019-state-union-address Trump, D. (2020). State of the Union Address. The Miller Center: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/ presidential-speeches/february-4-2020-state-union-address Tullis, J. (1987). The Rhetorical Presidency. Princeton University Press. Vatz, R. E. (1973). The myth of the rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 6(3), 154–161. Whittington, K. E. (1997). The Rhetorical Presidency, Presidential Authority, and President Clinton. Perspectives on Political Science, 26(4), 199–207. doi:10.1080/10457099709600675 Williams, J. R., & Caldwell, D. (2006). Jus Post Bellum: Just war theory and the principles of just peace. International Studies Perspectives, 7(4), 309–320. doi:10.1111/j.1528-3585.2006.00256.x

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ADDITIONAL READING Anderson, T. H. (2011). Bush’s Wars. Oxford University Press. Lamy, S. L., Masker, J. S., Baylis, J., Smith, S., & Owens, P. (2021). Introduction to global politics. Oxford University Press. Louden, A. (2008). Presidential Communication (2008). In L. L. Kaid & C. Holtz-Bacha (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Political Communication (Vol. 2, pp. 631–639). Sage. doi:10.4135/9781412953993.n531 Nelson, M. (2019). Trump: The First Two Years. University of Virginia Press.

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Rampton, S., Rampton, S. and J. S., & Stauber, J. C. (2003). Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq. Penguin. Schmitz, D. F. (2014). Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War: The End of the American Century. Rowman & Littlefield. Stecker, F. (2011). Podium, the Pulpit, and the Republicans, The: How Presidential Candidates Use Religious Language in American Political Debate: How Presidential Candidates Use Religious Language in American Political Debate. ABC-CLIO. White, J. K. (2015). What Happened to the Republican Party?: And What It Means for American Presidential Politics. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315675299

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Democrat: A prominent political party in the United States, whose members typically lean more liberal regarding both economic and social policies, support more progressive approaches to capitalism and taxation that intend to increase overall equality within a society, and typically place greater emphasis on national policies or laws that uphold civil rights. Episodic Framing: Using specific events or stories as frames to orient the audience to what the author or speaker believes is important to know about a topic or issue (e.g., discussing the experiences of a individual soldier to frame the overall situation of an international conflict). Framing: Rhetorical frameworks employed by the speaker, which make certain aspects of the intended communication more salient than other aspects, and thus package information so that the audience will interpret it in a specific way. Republican: A prominent political party in the United States, whose members typically lean more conservative regarding both economic and social policies, support a free-market approach to capitalism, and typically place greater emphasis on states’ rights (versus nationwide policies, laws, or restrictions). Rhetoric: A body of speech, generally intended to be persuasive. State of the Union Address: A speech the President of the United States delivers annually to the U.S. Congress and the American public to discuss the current state of the country’s affairs, both domestic and abroad. The speech usually takes place in January or February. Thematic Framing: Using broad context or general themes regarding an issue to orient the audience to what the author or speaker believes is important to know about a topic or issue (e.g., discussing the national deficit to frame the overall standing of the economy).

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Chapter 17

General Awareness and Responses to COVID-19 Crisis: A Sentiment Analysis of Twitter Updates Dipima Buragohain Jilin University, China

ABSTRACT The ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19 has impacted people across nations while taking social media by storm with its massive pool of information. As social media platforms are full of horserace reporting and uncritical or even fake updates most of the time, users should respond carefully during a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic while consuming and sharing updates. The current study presents an exploratory analysis of and highlights language use in terms of users’ general awareness of the crisis and their responses on social media platforms through a sentiment analysis of 805 Twitter messages related to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The fndings reported users’ varied sentiments while expressing their general awareness about the crisis and its widespread outbreak. It also reported their use of cognizant verbal expressions and abusive words as an expression for dealing with panic of the crisis.

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INTRODUCTION The ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19 has impacted people across nations at so many levels of everyday life. World Health Organization (WHO) has defined COVID-19 or the coronavirus disease as an infectious disease of respiratory illness caused by the most recently discovered corona virus. The common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, fatigue, dry cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, body pain, headache, and diarrhea. It can cause a range of symptoms from mild illness to even pneumonia or in extreme cases, difficulty in breathing and death. While constant medical attempts of controlling the situation are on the go, the global outbreak of COVID-19 is taking social media by storm with its massive pool of information. There are numerous COVID-19 information updates on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There are information, misinformation, rumors, and hoaxes being written, updated, and circulated on these platforms regarding the outbreak, DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch017

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outcomes, prevention, and cure of this disease. This further raises pertinent questions on the nature and authenticity of the information that has been circulated across these platforms. It is undeniably true that these social media platforms are full of horse-race reporting and uncritical or even fake updates at times, or most of the times. What is even worse is the fact that such fake news spread faster on social media than the updates from reliable sources, which can adversely impact the authenticity of reliable sources. That is why it is important for the users of social media platforms to respond carefully and responsibly during a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to consuming and sharing updates related to the pandemic situation. Apart from the concern of the accuracy of disseminated information on various social media platforms regarding the ongoing situation, another issue to take into serious account is the need for constant monitoring of the expressions and stylistics of the content used, posted, and shared on these platforms. It is important to identify whether and how language is utilized or misused in the communication process on such social media platforms. One of the primary challenges of receiving and sharing information on various social media platforms during a pandemic outbreak is to react and respond to the panic associated with the adverse health outcomes. Panic among public during a pandemic outbreak is common, but it may further influence the dissemination of information on social media platforms in both positive and negative sentiments. To be specific, such news gets more media attention and coverage due to which these updates become most or frequently searched trending topics on the internet along with more shares and tweets on social media. This further can help health authorities as well as public to identify real-time prediction of the outbreak. However, the viral updates can adversely impact health systems by spreading fake news, misinformation, and hoaxes on the pandemic, thus instigating more panic. In other words, such posts or tweets on social media can identify multiple issues that the outbreak may prompt. Such concerns are of grave nature during the time of any epidemic or pandemic outbreak. Fu et al. (2016) reported several issues which were identified from the tweets during the outbreak of the Zika virus in early 2016 when it first spread outside of Africa and Asia regions where the virus had formerly been restricted. This has led to a variety of information and misinformation disseminated across social media platforms. However, it also spreads information through tweets raising various concerns, including social impact of the outbreak, issues of pregnancy and unborn child, actions of government and health authorities, and geographical expansion of the virus across regions. In the light of this introduction, the current study explores and highlights several concerns of Twitter users related to the virus outbreak and other health information caused or impacted by it. While Twitter users across India demanded the practices of social distancing and lockdown extension, they were found to be misinformed about the causes and cures of the pandemic outbreak as well. While lockdown hampered the economy of the country, people were heard advocating as well as discouraging an extension. Twitter updates showed that Assam and most of the northeastern states demanded an extended lockdown since they believed it would curb the pandemic from outbreaking in that region which still showed low intensity and across the country as it will be addressed and discussed later in the study. Social media platforms play a significant source for disseminating, collecting, and updating information when it comes to updating public knowledge on a pandemic or any infectious disease outbreak. While public health authorities can utilize these platforms for notifying people on health hazard prevention notices and recommendations to avoid travelling to the virus-affected sensitive areas, dissemination of misinformation on the same can result in adverse consequences. The content posted and shared on Twitter is viewed widely across the Internet by a sizeable global human population on a daily basis.

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Therefore, it is important to study the types of content updated on other social media platforms during an infectious disease and pandemic outbreak. Previous studies on crises have reported Twitter users updating and sharing information along with their opinions related to such outbreaks while voicing their concerns. In the light of this, a study by Chew and Eysenbach (2010) analyzed the tweets related to H1N1 or swine flu outbreak in 2009. It conducted a content analysis of tweets containing keywords such as ‘swine flu’, ‘swineflu’, and ‘H1N1’ and found that the increased use of ‘H1N1’ indicated a gradual adoption of WHO-recommended terminology by public. The study also reported the use of Twitter by credible and popular sources to share outbreak updates and to raise their concerns. It found Twitter as one of the reliable social media platforms for spreading knowledge on outbreak situations. Based on their findings, the study further suggested that governments and health authorities should use Twitter for sharing updates and raising concerns for such situations. This suggestion is pertinent to the current study in which the government health authorities of the concerned region use Twitter to inform and update information on COVID-19 outbreak, thus making Twitter a conscious choice for information dissemination during a crisis-like situation. This platform was used as the authentic and confidential source of information related to the COVID-19 updates by the government as well as the people of Assam during the initial phase of the pandemic outbreak. Another issue of concern is the negativity about infectious disease outbreaks spread on various social media platforms. Most of the previous studies discussed above highlighted that negative emotions are evident in the Twitter updates whenever there is a situation of infectious disease or pandemic outbreak. Researchers have addressed and discussed such instances. Users tweeted and shared misinformation during the Zika virus outbreak which had negative outcomes. This explains why there were inaccurate updates on advice around the prevention and transmission of the virus (Fu et al., 2016). Moreover, such updates can evoke negative emotions indicating varied sentiments such as anxiety, anger, abuse, and even death. Therefore, exploring sentiments, emotions, reactions, and responses of Twitter users is a subject of immense significance in terms of scientific inquiry. In the light of this, the current study focuses on exploring the sentiments of Twitter users regarding the dissemination of information related to COVID-19 which will be discussed in detail later in the study. Based on the previous introduction, this study, therefore, is structured as follows: • • • • • • •

The background of the study including existing literature is discussed in the following section, The primary concern along with the research method, Methodology, participants, and research questions and objectives, Detailed discussion of the fndings, Results and recommendations section, Scope for future research and research directions, Summarized discussion of the study in the conclusion section.

Background The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has not only brought havoc and public health challenge to the health systems across nations but also created panic among people over the world which is evident in the massive pool of information being floated on different social media platforms. This further signals the alarming concern of misinformation on COVID-19 being spread across these platforms in an enormous amount. Dissemination of misinformation and wrong updates during a pandemic situation 322

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is not a new phenomenon as observed by previous studies (Liu, 2011; Collinson et al., 2015; Kaila & Prasad, 2020; Raman, 2020). Liang et al. (2019) reported about the broadcasting or viral spreading of misinformation as a common phenomenon on Twitter during the time of Ebola outbreak in 2014-15. The study also highlighted that Twitter updates of influential users can be considered as a source of reliability and authenticity of the outbreak-related information. The study categorized users with fewer followers but more retweets as “hidden influential users”. It further found that, “Although the media and health organization accounts were influential users, they accounted for only a small proportion of the cascade dynamics directly. Many other Twitter users, who served as influential users, triggered most information cascades” (Liang et al., 2019, p.7). However, updates of misinformation and fake news are relatively more frequent which can impact in adverse manner as supported by Shu et al. (2017). Similarly, Fung et al. (2014) reported high levels of anxiety related to Ebola outbreak which was evident in tweets. The study found that misinformation related to health. During public health events or emergencies include false remedies for illness, incorrect information on disease transmission, or allegations that the disease is associated with a government conspiracy (Fung et al., 2014). This further fueled high levels of anxiety on tweets with a lot of negative emotions including anger, anxiety, abuse, and death. During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, people living in quarantine, isolation, or at risk of the outbreak are more likely to experience stress, anxiety, and panic which may evoke interests in looking for more updates on the disease (Ahmed et al., 2020). It is important to highlight panic and the related concerns to identify the authenticity of information during a pandemic outbreak as “Infectious disease outbreaks may cause fear and panic among the public making it important to study these phenomena” (Ahmed et al., 2020, p 449). Fake news and misinformation can misguide them in this concern while aggravating the health hazards. Therefore, not only common public should be careful while receiving and sharing information and post responsibly on social media platforms, but governments and health authorities should also take responsible initiatives by implementing policies and guidelines to handle the spread of misinformation during such situations. According to Oyeyemi et al. (2014), there was widespread broadcasting of misinformation on social media platforms during the Ebola outbreak compared to the accurate and correct updates. This is also relevant to the outbreak of COVID-19 which requires similar guidelines from reliable authorities. World Health Organization (WHO) has already implemented strict and clear instructions for organizations, social media platforms, authorities, nations, and people to deal with the ongoing pandemic situation. Updates from reliable sources are important for dealing with stress and panic. This is supported by Fung et al. (2014) who found that accurate update of information by concerned authorities and health practitioners can help reduce the panic and anxiety especially in places where the intensity of the outbreak is low or zero. Further, this finding is also relevant for the current study which focuses on the COVID-19 Twitter updates, mainly on Assam, India where the intensity of the outbreak was comparatively very low at the time of research than the rest of the country. It is important to note that the present study focuses on the data collected during the initial period of the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 in Assam, India, as will be discussed later in the study.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION The current study provides a sentiment analysis of 805 randomly selected Twitter messages related to COVID-19 pandemic in Assam, India during the initial period of its outbreak. Sentiment analysis is a 323

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significant technique used for analyzing and determining a text in terms of positive, negative, or neutral sentiments it carries. It is further used for assessing public opinion based on the analysis. Public opinions as well as human sentiments expressed and shared on a social media platform like Twitter are mostly unstructured in nature as individual opinions are unique to each social media user (Rout et al., 2017). This is why computational strategies, such as sentiment analysis, are required for identifying opinions and sentiments of Twitter users. Detailed discussion on sentiment analysis is included in this section.

Methodology of the Study

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The current study uses sentiment analysis to find out the general awareness of Twitter users about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak along with their reactions and responses to the situation in Assam, India during the initial phase of the pandemic outbreak. Sentiment analysis is an approach for analyzing people’s sentiments, opinions, attitudes, viewpoints, and emotions towards something which further can be effective in the decision-making process of people. Sentiment analysis helps collect and evaluate precise and timely information on a certain topic. It is relevant to mention that previous studies have recognized Twitter as a crucial social media platform for political information seeking and dissemination (Ahmed et al., 2018) which further validates the information source as authentic and reliable since the concerned government authority in the current study used this platform for updating COVID-19 outbreak information. Choosing Twitter and sentiment analysis to explore, understand, and evaluate emotions, opinions, and sentiments of the people for the current study has its reasonable ground. People of the researched region along with the rest of India were mostly confined to their homes due to the enforced lockdown. It further made them rely more on social media platforms for expressing and perceiving various feelings and attitudes concerning the pandemic. The current study chose Twitter as it was used by the government authorities and officials to disseminate information and updates on the pandemic outbreak and related aspects. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented losses to the lives and economy of India as well as to the world. While it has turned India to be the second worst-hit nation after the US, it caused widespread anxiety and fear among the people of India which was apparent in their expressions, opinions, and attitudes on various social media platforms including Twitter. Therefore, conducting a sentiment analysis is of utmost significance to understand their concerns of mental well-being as well as how they react to any potential threat or respond to precautionary measures. The current study thus used two applications to collect data from Twitter and explore and analyze it. These are: • •

Sentiment Analysis Tool on danielsoper.com. Text Analysis Tool of IntenCheck software.

The analysis includes six main categories of sentiment parameters for data interpretation containing positive, negative, strong, weak, active, and passive sentiments. The scale of grades for these parameters vary between High, Normal, and Low. The value for the parameters is calculated between 0 and 100.

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Participants of the Study The data for the study were collected through random selection from Twitter users particularly responding to COVID-19 updates of the concerned government. With a population over 36 million, Assam is one of the frontier states of India’s northeastern region and considered as the gateway to northeast India. The northeast India comprises of eight states and the region shares international border with China, Tibet Autonomous Region, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, thus making it a sensitive region. The region features a pool of diverse languages, cultures, and social systems totally different from the rest of India, or rather the ‘mainland’ India. This is also evident from the fact that the region is geographically located away from the mainland India. During the initial phase of the pandemic outbreak, India witnessed gradual increase in the confirmed cases from January 2020 onwards whereas its northeastern region had zero cases till Assam witnessed the first confirmed case on 31st March 2020. It is important to understand the peoples (netizens), the sensitivity, and their reactions in particular. While the country was going through bouts of information, misinformation, and disinformation on the pandemic outbreak on different social media platforms, Twitter users expressed their reactions and responses. Leading news channels constantly telecasted infringement of social distancing in several Indian cities where people were seen observing rituals, performing puja, and hosting marches to ‘ward off’ Coronavirus. Leading newspaper Deccan Chronicle reported performing of puja in a Hyderabad temple by reciting shlokas to ward off Coronavirus which was attended by 2000-odd devotees with no norms of social distancing in February 2020 (Deccan Chronicle, 2020). Reuters reported hosting of gaumutra (cow urine) party by some 200 members of All India Hindu Mahasabha to ward off Coronavirus in New Delhi in March 2020 (Reuters, 2020). Such instances were not witnessed as such in the northeastern region of India and particularly in Assam. Twitter updates showed awareness of Assamese people about the rising concerns of the pandemic including the need of social distancing, lockdown extension, and other precautionary measures to be taken to prevent any potential threat. A total of 805 tweets were collected for this study that were responded to the COVID-19 updates on the Twitter account of the Health Minister of Assam, Mr Himanta Biswa Sharma who regularly tweeted with the pandemic updates in the state since the beginning of its outbreak. Regarding the current study, the tweets of the State Health Minister included regular and specific details on the total number of infected cases in COVID-19, their names, and locations. The tweets collected for the study were posted in between the timeframe of three months, from March 2020 to May 2020, which was the initial period of the pandemic outbreak in the region. It is important to note that there was not a single confirmed case of COVID-19 in Assam during the initial stage of its outbreak in the country. The first confirmed case in India was reported on 30 January 2020 whereas the first positive case of COVID-19 pandemic in Assam was reported on 31 March 2020. A nationwide rigid lockdown was first implemented on 24 March 2020 as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Even though there were no COVID-19 positive cases in Assam in March and a few in the following month, netizens were vocal about the outbreak in the region on Twitter since the Health Minister tweeted daily updating the situation. The current study involves research of this timespan of the initial phase of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the concerned region.

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Purpose of the Study The current study aims at providing an exploratory study analyzing how language is used on social media platforms at the times of crisis like this and how the users react to pandemic updates in their posts and updates. The study particularly focuses on the use of language on social media platforms especially on Twitter in order to investigate users’ general awareness of the ongoing health crisis and their responses. It has chosen Twitter which is one of the most popular social media platforms in which people share and post news, information, opinions, and updates through text regarding various global issues. Having a wide user base, Twitter, along with Facebook, has become an important political information source (Ahmed et al., 2018). Therefore, choosing Twitter as the database source for the current research is relevant since the study aims at focusing on Twitter messages addressing information and updates on the ongoing pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. Based on the discussion above, the current study attempts to find answers to the following research questions: • • •

How do the Twitter users react and respond to the ongoing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and its related concerns? How well are the Twitter users aware of the authenticity and accuracy of information they update and share on the outbreak? How do the Twitter users react to the negativity and panic related to the pandemic outbreak?

In order to find answers to the research questions above along with the objectives to fulfil, the current study attempts at exploring the general awareness of Twitter users and their reactions to COVID-19 crisis through their tweet responses. It provides a sentiment analysis of Twitter messages related to COVID-19 pandemic in India.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The study investigated COVID-19 tweet responses to the regular tweets of the State Health Minister of Assam, India posted during the initial phase of its outbreak in the region. The findings reported varied sentiments and attitudes expressed by the Twitter users while voicing out their concerns about the crisis and its widespread outbreak. These findings are aligned with the research objectives and questions which will be discussed in detail in the following sections.

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General Concern Over the Pandemic Situation The study reported public concerns over the pandemic situation raising various issues related to the outbreak which was evident in the tweets and the keywords used. This finding, which aligns with the first research question and objective, explains the concerned issues. The researched region witnessed a relatively low intensity of strong emotions regarding the COVID-19 outbreak during its initial stage. It is important to note that India reported more than 100,000 active cases and over 6,000 deaths due to COVID-19 on the 11th of March 2020, the day it was declared a pandemic by WHO. But Assam did not have a single case till the last week of March. Its first confirmed case was reported after the enforcement of the first phase of countrywide lockdown in the same week, thus indicating the intensity 326

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of the situation across India. While the Twitter users responded to the daily updates of the State Health Minister’s tweets on the pandemic situation, the most frequent keywords used in the response tweets included ‘action’, ‘administration’, ‘assistance’, and ‘community’. The tweets showed users’ knowledge and understanding of the pandemic situation in the researched region while they demanded swift action from the administration to handle the initial situation which further resulted in the announcement of state-level lockdown. Some of the tweets are mentioned below. We need more strict action against those people who went out during LOCK DOWN unnecessary otherwise the situation goes out of control... (Thakuria, 2020) Sir please look into the matter that some people are breaking the LOCKDOWN at evry steps and roaming freely where and there in our karimganj Honourable sir please talk to our karimganj administration. (Biddu, 2020) The earliest confirmed case in Assam was notified on the last week of March 2020. However, this made the public stay alert and careful regarding the possible outbreak of COVID-19 which made them aware of notions like community spread much ahead of the full-grown outbreak and demand more action from the government and concerned health authorities. Figure 1 below describes the Twitter users’ sentiments on their general concerns over the pandemic situation in the highlighted region. Users were aware of the severity of the outbreak in the rest of the country since January while it affected Assam only in March with a single infected case. Use of keywords like ‘careful’, ‘functional’, and ‘essential’ represents the cautious attitude of people during the tense situation of the pandemic across the country. While demanding more watchfulness of the authorities in the state situation which was relatively safer and a green zone at that time, keywords like ‘blunder’, ‘dangerous’, ‘disastrous’, and ‘accountable’ represent the somewhat negative aspects of Twitter users indicating the element of panic to some extent. Through the response tweets, users seemed to highlight public as the primary reason for not following the new normal practices like social distancing and wearing masks, which could be dangerous to expose them to COVID-19.

User Awareness of the Widespread Outbreak of the Pandemic

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This finding also explains the concerned issues. It is important to note that people in Assam were well aware of the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 across the country as well as in other nations such as China, Italy, and Spain while the state was going through its initial outbreak. This was evident in the following tweets, Hope now people realise that religious practice won’t just help in fighting covid-19. Let the senses prevail and those coming from Nizamuddin and other parts of India voluntarily submits themselves for examination. Let’s help @himantabiswa to end this crisis in Assam. (Chachan, 2020) Sir please stop mentioning “Patient is related to Nizamuddin event” in every tweet. This will create more hatred among the different communities. I don’t think that is helping us anyway. We should try to face the situation with peace and love. Jai Hind @himantabiswa (Deep, 2020)

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Figure 1. User sentiment on general concern over the pandemic situation

Source: IntenCheck software report

While reading about the graveness of the situation in the mentioned countries, Twitter users (Ali, 2020; Rajbongshi, 2020) expressed strong sentiments demanding stringent guidelines and instructions on social interaction of people and even stricter guidelines and COVID-19 protocols from the government authorities. This was manifested in the frequently used keywords like ‘action’, ‘alert’, ‘assistance’, and ‘administration’ as shown in Figure 2 below. There was also a negative flow of emotions with frequently used keywords such as ‘carelessness’, ‘alarming’, ‘criminal’, ‘crisis’, and ‘danger’ which were primarily used for criticizing public who disregarded the basic protocols of social distancing and wearing masks in public places. For example,

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It’s a very sad news and danger situation for assam.. People assam please lockdown is not a joke.. It’s a a very critical situation for us.. Please take it seriously.. And support our #Assamgovt #assampolice .. #assam_fight_against_covid19. (Rajbongshi, 2020) It is important to note that the Prime Minister of India announced the first nationwide lockdown on March 24 for 21 days sensing the impending outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. It limited the movement of the entire 1.3 billion population of the country violating which was subject to severe penalties. The alarming situation was perceived by the users on Twitter as well who expressed their concerns by using those negative emotions. There was also the looming element of panic among Twitter users visible in a sizeable amount keyword frequency of ‘delay’, ‘die’, ‘disaster’, ‘help’, and ‘lose’. This aligns with the findings of Fung et al. (2014) which supported that the regular update on the outbreak from the concerned authorities can reduce panic and anxiety among people in places where the intensity of the pandemic is very low. The awareness of COVID-19 outbreak across the world and the nationwide

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lockdown by the government as a precautionary measure helped the Twitter users to feel less panic and anxiety particularly in Assam where the infected cases were very few in the initial phase of its outbreak. Figure 2. User sentiment on awareness of the widespread outbreak of the pandemic Source: IntenCheck software report

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Suggestions for Social Distancing With the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 slowly spreading across various parts of India by April, the government authorities implemented stricter guidelines to follow social distancing, wearing masks and using hand sanitizers across the country. Assam was not an exception as well which was informed and updated by the State Health Minister’s Twitter account. In response to those and other COVID-19 related tweets, users expressed strong opinions with frequent use of keywords like ‘community’, ‘decision’, ‘active’, ‘action’, and ‘central’ as shown in Figure 3 below. Users requested the Health Minister to implement stricter actions against defaulters of the new normal practices and protocols implemented by the government. The efforts of the State Government of Assam for taking appropriate measures to contain the outbreak in its initial phase were also appreciated widely by the Twitter users who responded with ‘Thank you’ tweets to the Health Minister’s updates. Those response tweets included the presence of positive sentiment with keywords like ‘accurate’, ‘extraordinary’, ‘active’, and ‘calm’. For example, Sir respect to your hard work n dedication. It’s your hard work n forsightedness that is making everyone calm n stay at peace indoors. Sir there should be a big applause for the committment you have shown for the people of assam. We know Assam is in safe hands.... (Anks, 2020)

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Figure 3. User sentiment on social distancing practices Source: IntenCheck software report

The health authorities of the state were successful in containing the outbreak of COVID-19 in its initial phase which was much appreciated on Twitter and other social media platforms. However, negative sentiment was evident with high frequency of keywords like ‘careless’, ‘dangerous’, ‘death’, ‘dark’, and ‘afraid’ which showed not only the panic and anxiety of people but also user concern for public to stay safe and follow the guidelines mandated by the government. Moreover, suggestions of Twitter users for social distancing indicated their knowledge on the seriousness of the pandemic situation across the country and worldwide which could be considered as one of the deciding factors of the virus containment and prevention in the researched region during its initial phase.

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Public Demand for Lockdown Extension The study reported public awareness on the causes and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Assam witnessed a relatively low flow of the outbreak than the rest of India at the time of research, people were watchful enough to comprehend the gravity of the situation and reacted accordingly. This was evident in their Twitter updates as well. While the users highly appreciated the regular updates and remarkable steps taken by the State Health Minister, they demanded extension of lockdown which was for 21 days at the initial phase for the entire country. It is important to note that while the rigid lockdown across the country was successful and widely appreciated, it did not go well with countries outside India. As researchers studied and found, an adverse scenario was observed in the United States where rumors about a national lockdown fueled panic buying of groceries and stationaries (Spencer, 2020). This further led to disruption in supply chain resulting in widening demand-supply gaps and increasing food insecurities among the people with low socioeconomic status and other vulnerable population. People in the researched region were fully aware of the intensity of this and similar situations across the world.

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Hence, the demand for extension was made by the Twitter users for the researched region where they felt extended lockdown would be crucial in containing the region as a green zone. The users expressed their opinions by using keywords including ‘extend’, ‘allow’, and ‘condition’. For instance, Even after the lockdown of one month the cases are coming means there is community transmission. There are infected people but untested. So better to extend it for further 30 days so that infected come up. And there must be pool testing. (India First, 2020) Extended lockdown promotes social distancing which is suitable for containing the ongoing pandemic situation. Moreover, the tweets used keywords with very high frequency and strong emotions to express strong opinions of users for initiating action plans for COVID-19 with keywords like ‘action’, ‘alert’, ‘community’, ‘administration’, ‘charge’, and ‘chief’. Recommendations for action plans like random testing and rapid test were suggested in the tweets. As shown in Figure 4 below, the response tweets also showed positive sentiment of users with keywords of very high frequency such as ‘active’, ‘faith’, ‘fantastic’, ‘great’, and ‘help’ to express their appreciation for the government and health authorities for updating information with authenticity and accuracy in general and for the State Health Minister for his commendable efforts to contain COVID-19 successfully in its initial outbreak. For example, Great news sir. It appears that immunity of people in the region is comparatively better. Nevertheless, the effort put in by you and the entire Health Department is commendable. Jai Hind. (Arup, 2020) However, the demand for lockdown extension was also evident as a crucial one with the negative opinions being expressed by keywords like ‘blame’, ‘condolences’, ‘deadly’, and ‘destruction’ indicating the anguish and panic of users about the ongoing situation. This was mainly caused by the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 and its extremely adverse outcomes in the intensively affected regions across the world. Looking at the global situation of the pandemic, the suggestion for extended lockdown was a valid one in the researched region for its continuous successful containment.

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Regular Updates on Localities and Problems Caused by the Pandemic Situation The results reported the use of cognizant verbal expressions by the Twitter users while preferring and engaging in direct interaction with and regular updates to the concerned authority. This finding aligns with the second research question and objective and explains the concerned issues. This finding is in contrast with the study of Fu et al. (2016) which reported the Twitter users’ reliance on user-generated content rather than the content updated by the government or concerned authorities. It is important to note that the State Health Minister took to his Twitter account for updating the COVID-19 situations of Assam regularly which gave Twitter users a perfect platform for directly interacting with him. This is in line with the suggestions recommended by Chew and Eysenbach (2010) and Fung et al. (2014) who found Twitter as a reliable social media platform for knowledge dissemination on pandemic outbreak and suggested its use by governments and health authorities sharing updates and raising concerns in such situations. Ahmed et al. (2018) also found it to be a reliable source for political information seeking and dissemination, thus facilitating connections with political leaders. This directly aligns with the current study which connected general public with the State Health Minister for directly communicating 331

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their information and concerns through their retweets and responses to the former’s tweet updates on the pandemic outbreak. Figure 4. User sentiment on demand for lockdown extension Source: IntenCheck software report

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In light of this discussion, the current study found that users acknowledged the Twitter updates of the State health authorities credible to receive latest updates on the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, they used the Twitter account of the State Health Minister for raising their varied concerns and issues caused by the pandemic situation while responding directly to his regular tweets. Apart from their problems, the Twitter users also provided latest updates on their respective localities due to COVID-19. As shown in Figure 5 below, users demonstrated strong expressions on the awareness of the situation with keywords like ‘action’, ‘alert’, ‘community’, ‘decision’, and ‘demand’ while updating the Health Minister on the conditions of their respective localities. For example, Sir,as still lockdown seems as the best way to fight against Corona than is it necessary to open wine shops risking spread of the same. If not when agricultural goods start decomposing in fields it is better to rethink the decision please.All hv faith in u. (Sarma, 2020) There were positive reactions from some users with the use of keywords like ‘essential’, ‘ease’, ‘careful’, ‘basic’, and ‘better’ to appreciate the effort of the government. However, negative sentiments were equally voiced out by using keywords like ‘blunder’, ‘challenging’, ‘contamination’, ‘crowded’, and ‘dangerous’ mainly to raise alarming concerns about defaulters who did not follow the COVID-19 health and hygiene instructions properly or not at all. Twitter users were aware that those defaulters are an obvious threat to the ongoing pandemic situation possibly causing to its outbreak. For example,

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Sir who all hiding their identity please don’t give them treatment also let them go for die. They will become dangerous for entire humanity. (Alam, 2020) The tweet above indicates a grave concern that reported there were people who were exposed to the pandemic-hit areas, the red zones, or infected individuals but chose to refrain from checking and updating their health status mainly due to the fear of getting infected with the virus. But most importantly, they were scared of being socially isolated from their respective societies or communities. This has made the Twitter users of the researched region demand more health checkups by the health authorities and identify the ‘defaulters’ who did not follow health measures. Figure 5. User sentiment on regular pandemic updates from authorities Source: IntenCheck software report

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Use of Abusive Words Expressing Panic among the Public The results found the use of abusive words by Twitter users as an expression for dealing with panic regarding the COVID-19 crisis. This finding aligns with the third research question and objective. At the same time, the use of abusive language also hinted tinge of communal nationalism at play. This aligns with previous studies (Oyeyemi et al., 2014) that reported the likely impacts of panic during a pandemic outbreak. It further reported two outcomes that panic can evoke. It can instigate the flow of misinformation on social media while giving way to frequent use of abusive language in the user content. In the context of the current study, the twitter users were angry and disappointed due to the panic created on social media about the gradual pandemic outbreak across India and almost a hysterical situation across the world which was strongly evident in the tweets. Studies reported that misinformation related to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 disseminated on social media and other online media con-

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fused people and healthcare providers across the world who are dealing with relatively less researched diseases (Spencer, 2020). Thus, creating rumors and hoaxes on social media may not only evoke panic among general population but also create social stigma around the disease resulting in discreet home quarantine and social isolation practices. This was evident in many countries including India that reported hundreds of confirmed cases infected by a single individual who visited their mosque or church despite their doctor’s advice to remain on home isolation or without notifying their respective health authorities about their visit (Kasulis, 2020). While such rumors and misinformation created panic and hysteria among general population making it difficult for health authorities to contain the infection or control the pandemic across populations, it gave way to the spreading of fraud and negativity across social media platforms. As shown in Figure 6 below, there was a very high frequency of negative sentiments among Twitter users evident through their use of keywords like ‘alarming’, ‘anarchy’, ‘adversity’, ‘catastrophe’, ‘challenging’, and ‘block’. Such various abuses were hurled mainly at the government and concerned health authorities to criticize their lenient approach towards defaulters as well as the precautionary measures to be taken for the outbreak containment. Moreover, the panic evident from their response tweets entailed their watchfulness of the situation and their readiness to face it with any consequence. This was further evident from their strong opinions and sentiments with their highly frequent use of keywords like ‘action’, ‘administration’, ‘alert’, ‘army’, ‘appropriate’, and ‘authority’. For example, Figure 6. User sentiment on expressions for panic

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Source: IntenCheck software report

Sad news. This should alert us .Let good civic sense prevails .Let us help the administration by abiding the directions and stay home. Hon’ble Himantada is toiling hard and doing the best he can do. We should not undo his efforts. (Duronto, 2020)

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Further, their response tweets continuously demanded stricter action from the authorities in order to contain the gradual outbreak of the pandemic. It is important to note that during the months of the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Assam (March-May, 2020), most of the positive cases found in the region were attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat; a religious gathering practiced by the Muslim community in the nation as well as abroad, organized in Nizamuddin Markaz, New Delhi as updated in the newspapers, media reports, and social media. The Health Minister of Assam updated the details daily on his Twitter account. This further led to a public outrage on social media due to which the pandemic outbreak in the researched region received a religious and/or communal outcry among public in Assam. It was evident in the use of abusive and hate words on Twitter as well as on other social media platforms. It is important to note that incitement of hate words and speech on various social media platforms are caused by massive online offensives as reported by previous studies (Vigna et al., 2017) which is evident in the current study as well. The study also reported that the hate can be directed towards individuals or wide groups, usually discriminated for some features such as race or gender. The current study reported a similar finding when the Twitter updates were flooded with selective attacks at the Jamaat attendees mainly for religious and communal reasons. Some of the response tweets in the study used keywords like ‘breakdown’, ‘diminish’, ‘disastrous’, and ‘foolish’ to express their opinion towards this religious and communal uproar. For example, Sir please declare all those people who r hiding irrespective of religion as criminal and strict action like shoot and sight should be implemented. They are now become virus for us. extremely sorry sir if I. Wrong. (Deka, 2020) The courage we get few days back to fight against covid19 will diminish becoz of these kind of blind religious freaks..destroying d society, destroing d nation..its time to stand 2gethr, fight 2gethr.. (Rupjit, 2020) However, it did not outgrow as the Jamaat participants from the researched region returning home were attended with proper medical care, and they eventually came negative. While the religious and communal outcry was beginning to make noise, Twitter users were prompt enough to stifle it by using keywords with positive sentiment, including ‘adequate’, ‘appropriate’, ‘cooperation’, ‘courage’, and ‘calm’, demanding the availability of medical assistance to the Jamaat attendees and other positive cases while requesting the cooperation of the patients in the process. For example,

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Shortage of knowledge Strong Believe in in religion But they are not criminal to treat like this Please let them motivated they are really scared sir Please take care of them help them to fight against Corona. (Akhtar, 2020)

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH The current study provided an exploratory research of the Twitter messages on COVID-19 in its initial outbreak in Assam, India by employing sentiment analysis. The results reported three main findings: • •

General awareness of Twitter users on the pandemic outbreak in the researched region. Their reactions and responses to the outbreak of Covid-19 as well as panic and negativity. 335

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•

Their knowledge and responses to the authenticity and reliability of information sources about COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

However, this study focused on the time of the initial phase of the pandemic outbreak which limited the scope of research for the current study. The ongoing pandemic situation is witnessing a sea of information floating on various social media platforms which requires further investigation for observing and analyzing different perspectives and possibilities on the use of content and language to disseminate information and knowledge on the pandemic. The current study also provided a sentiment analysis of tweets responded to the COVID-19 updates by the Health Minister of Assam, India during the initial period of the pandemic outbreak in the region. The study particularly explored the reactions and responses of the Twitter users in relation to their knowledge dissemination on the pandemic outbreak. It also explored their reactions to panic and negativity through use of language and content, and their responses to the authenticity and reliability of information on Twitter regarding the pandemic. The findings reported the response tweets to the COVID-19 updates showing users’ varied attitudes and sentiments while expressing their general awareness about the crisis and its widespread outbreak. In the context of expressing their concerns about the ongoing pandemic situation, the study found the Twitter users to be well-aware of the seriousness of the infectious disease and its gradual outbreak. Their awareness was evident in the response tweets to the health authority’s regular updates. Previous studies discussed earlier have informed how a pandemic outbreak can evoke panic and create hysteria among people in places where the outbreak flow is high as well as in those areas where its occurrence is relatively low or zero. The aspect of panic can further be fueled by the nonstop flow of information, misinformation, and disinformation on various social media platforms. Twitter, being one of the most widely used social media platforms, is no exception to it. Since users are exposed to a wide range of information, being updated by reliable sources or sources from government or concerned authorities is highly recommended. The current study concludes that there has been relatively less panic and hysteria among the Twitter users responding to the Health Minister’s tweets in Assam compared to the rest of India during the initial phase of the pandemic outbreak. While more of performing puja and observing rituals were reported from various parts of India by news channels, the people of Assam seem to have relatively more patience and practical attitudes towards the various aspects of the ongoing pandemic. Their tweets indicated less panic and more awareness about the situation with frequently used keywords like ‘action’, ‘alert’, ‘assistance’, and ‘administration’ demanding cooperation from people as well as from government authorities. Moreover, regular and at times daily updates by the Health Minister or health authorities made the pandemic-related information and updates more reliable and authentic for users to believe and follow due to which it was relevant and easier for people to stay aware of the ongoing crisis-like situation. The ongoing pandemic situation has already created havoc across the world by infecting millions and killing thousands, and the numbers are still growing. In the light of this grave situation, it is important to exchange correct information and regular updates, implement and follow precautionary health measures, and react and respond to the situation with less panic and negativity for both government authorities and public. Therefore, using the appropriate choice of words is crucial for both general users and government authorities in disseminating information related to COVID-19 particularly on social media platforms. Since Twitter is one of the most popular and widely used social media platforms and previous studies advocated for its reliability as the dependable source of information for knowledge dissemination 336

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during such pandemic situations (Chew & Eysenbach, 2010; Fung et al., 2014; Ahmed et al., 2018), there is considerable room for rational inquiries into the use of language, types and style of content, and the analysis of expressions and opinions posted and updated on Twitter. Regarding the broadcasting of misinformation and disinformation, further research is required to address and analyze the measures adopted by the government and health authorities as well as online platforms to identify and eliminate potentially harmful misinformation, hoaxes, and rumors. Further research on these aspects will be effective in finding and understanding Twitter users’ sentiments and attitudes towards the ongoing pandemic outbreak and the situations caused by it. Moreover, there is adequate scope for further research on how frontline healthcare providers find and receive accurate and reliable information online regarding the outbreak, its containment, and possibility of vaccine availability and how they respond. The use of language can further be explored and evaluated to check if the updates and other authentic information are circulated proficiently and accurately among population in places where the outbreak intensity is relatively less, whether online or offline, so that the validated information is communicated across platforms efficiently. Moreover, there can be a comparative study on these aspects between the initial and later phases of the outbreak.

REFERENCES Agarwal, A., Xie, B., Vovsha, I., Rambow, O., & Passonneau, R. J. (2011). Sentiment analysis of Twitter data. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Language in Social Media (LSM 2011) (pp. 30-38). Academic Press. Ahmed, S., Jaidka, K., & Cho, J. (2018). Do birds of different feather flock together? Analyzing the political use of social media through a language-based approach in a multilingual context. Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 299–310. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.051 Ahmed, W., Bath, P. A., Sbaffi, L., & Demartini, G. (2020). Zika outbreak of 2016: Insights from Twitter. In Social Computing and Social Media. Participation, User Experience, Consumer Experience, and Applications of Social Computing (pp. 447-458). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49576-3_32

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Akhtar, J. [@JavedAk32243808]. (2020, April 2). Shortage of knowledge Strong Believe in in religion But they are not criminal to treat like this Please let them motivated they are really scared sir Please take care of them help them to fight against Corona [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/JavedAk32243808/ status/1245524943606972417 Alam, A. [@AzarAlam0]. (2020, April 2). SIR WHO ALL HIDING THEIR IDENTITY PLEASE DON’T GIVE THEM TREATMENT ALSO LET THEM GO FOR DIE. THEY WILL BECOME DANGEROUS FOR ENTIRE HUMANITY [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/AzarAlam0/status/1245596317444747264 Anks. [@Anks60869416]. (2020, April 2). Sir respect to your hard work n dedication. Its your hard work n forsightedness that is making everyone calm n stay at peace indoors. Sir there should be a big applause for the committment you have shown for the people of assam. We know Assam is in safe hands.... [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Anks60869416/status/1245545457184641024

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Arup. [@Arup64094929]. (2020, April 26). Great news sir. It appears that immunity of people in the region is comparatively better. Nevertheless, the effort put in by you and the entire Health Department is commendable. Jai Hind [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Arup64094929/status/1254364488381464576 Biddu, S. N. [@BidduSaugat]. (2020, March 31). Sir please look into the matter that some people are breaking the LOCKDOWN at evry steps and roaming freely where and there in our karimganj Honourable sir please talk to our karimganj administration [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BidduSaugat/ status/1244992392425439232 Chachan, M. [@chachan_mukesh]. (2020, April 4). Hope now people realise that religious practice won’t just help in fighting covid-19. Let the senses prevail and those coming from Nizamuddin and other parts of India voluntarily submits themselves for examination. Let’s help @himantabiswa to end this crisis in Assam [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/chachan_mukesh/status/1246317359956017152 Chew, C., & Eysenbach, G. (2010). Pandemics in the age of Twitter: Content analysis of tweets during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak. PLoS One, 5(11), e14118. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014118 PMID:21124761 Collinson, S., Khan, K., & Heffernan, J. M. (2015). The effects of media reports on disease spread and important public health measurements. PLoS One, 10(11), e0141423. Advance online publication. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141423 PMID:26528909 Deccan Chronicle. (2020, February 8). Pooja to ward off Corona virus. http://www.deccanchronicle. com/amp/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/080220/pooja-to-ward-off-corona-virus.html Deep. [@Deep57358864]. (2020, April 4). Sir please stop mentioning “Patient is related to Nizamuddin event” in every tweet. This will create more hatred among the different communities. I don’t think that is helping us anyway. We should try to face the situation with peace and love. Jai Hind @himantabiswa [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Deep57358864/status/1246325314663284736 Deka, B. [@BIPULDEKA1]. (2020, April 2). Sir please declare all those people who r hiding irrespective of religion as criminal and strict action like shoot and sight should be implemented.they are now become virus for us.extreamly sorry sir if I. Wrong [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BIPULDEKA1/ status/1245584368241766400

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Duronto. [@Duronto31440015]. (2020, April 10). Sad news.This should alert us. Let good civic sense prevails. Let us help the administration by abiding the directions and stay home.Hon’ble Himantada is toiling hard and doing the best he can do.We should not undo his efforts [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter. com/Duronto31440015/status/1248469859265961985 Fu, K. W., Liang, H., Saroha, N., Tse, Z. T. H., Ip, P., & Fung, I. C. H. (2016). How people react to Zika virus outbreaks on Twitter? A computational content analysis. American Journal of Infection Control, 44(12), 1700–1702. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2016.04.253 PMID:27566874 Fung, I. C. H., Tse, Z. T. H., Cheung, C. N., Miu, A. S., & Fu, K. W. (2014). Ebola and the social media. Lancet, 384(9961), 2207. Advance online publication. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62418-1 PMID:25625391

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India First. [@VoiceOfIndia007]. (2020, April 28). Even after the lockdown of one month the cases are coming means there is community transmission. There are infected people but untested. So better to extend it for further 30 days so that infected come up. And there must be pool testing [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/VoiceOfIndia007/status/1255128482243198976 Kaila, R. P., & Prasad, A. V. K. (2020). Informational flow on Twitter – Coronavirus outbreak topic modelling approach. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology, 11(3), 128–134. Kasulis, K. (2020). “Patient 31” and South Korea’s sudden spike in coronavirus cases. Aljazeera. https:// www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden-spike-coronavirus-cases-200303065953841. html Liang, H., Fung, I. C. H., Tse, Z. T. H., Yin, J., Chan, C.-H., Pechta, L. E., Smith, B. J., Marquez-Lameda, R. D., Meltzer, M. I., Lubell, K. M., & Fu, K.-W. (2019). How did Ebola information spread on Twitter: Broadcasting or viral spreading? BMC Public Health, 19(438), 438. Advance online publication. doi:10.118612889-019-6747-8 PMID:31023299 Liu, B. (2011). Opinion mining and sentiment analysis. Web data mining: Exploring hyperlinks, contents, and usage data, 459-526. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-19460-3_11 Oyeyemi, S. O., Gabarron, E., & Wynn, R. (2014). Ebola, Twitter, and misinformation: A dangerous combination? BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 349(oct14 5), g6178. doi:10.1136/bmj.g6178 PMID:25315514 Raman, S. (2020). Public health experts worry about spread of COVID-19 misinformation. https:// www.rollcall.com/2020/03/18/public-health-experts-worry-abuout-spread-of-covid-19-misinformation/ Rajbongshi, M. P. [@ManashPratimRa3]. (2020, March 31). It’s a very sad news and danger situation for assam. People assam please lockdown is not a joke. It’s a a very critical situation for us. Please take it seriously. And support our #Assamgovt #assampolice. #assam_fight_against_covid19 [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ManashPratimRa3/status/1244994393255235585 Reuters. (2020, March 14). Hindu group offers cow urine in a bid to ward off coronavirus. https://www. reuters.com/article/amp/idINKBN2110CF

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Rout, J. K., Choo, K. R., Dash, A. K., Bakshi, S., Jena, S. K., & Williams, K. L. (2017). A model for sentiment and emotion analysis of unstructured social media text. Electronic Commerce Research, 2018(18), 181–199. Rupjit. [@Rupbarsha1]. (2020, April 3). The courage we get few days back to fight against covid19 will diminish becoz of these kind of blind religious freaks.destroing d society, destroing d nation.its time to stand 2gethr, fight 2gethr [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Rupbarsha1/status/1246088359274930176 Sarma, M. [@MANABENDRASAR19]. (2020, April 14). Sir,as still lockdown seems as the best way to fight against Corona than is it necessary to open wine shops risking spread of the same. If not when agricultural goods start decomposing in fields it is better to rethink the decision please.All hv faith in u [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/MANABENDRASAR19/status/1250126223218315264

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Shu, K., Sliva, A., Wang, S., Tang, J., & Liu, H. (2017). Fake News Detection on Social Media. ACM SIGKDD Explore News., doi:10.1145/3137597.3137600 Spencer, S. H. (2020, March 16). False claims of nationwide lockdown for COVID-19. https://factcheck. org/2020/03/false-claims-of-nationwide-lockdown-for-covid-19/ Thakuria, M. [@MrinalThakuri12]. (2020, March 31). We need more strict action against those people who went out during LOCK DOWN unnecessary otherwise the situation goes out of control... [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/MrinalThakuri12/status/1244981120543764480 Vigna, F. D., Cimino, A., Dell’Orletta, F., Petrocchi, M., & Tesconi, M. (2017). Hate me, hate me not: Hate speech detection on Facebook. Proceedings of the First Italian Conference on Cybersecurity (ITASEC17), 86-95. http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1816/paper-09.pdf

ADDITIONAL READING Abd-Alrazaq, A., Alhuwail, D., Househ, M., Hamdi, M., & Shah, Z. (2020). Top concerns of tweeters during the COVID-19 pandemic: Infoveillance study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4), e19016. doi:10.2196/19016 PMID:32287039 Alhajji, M., Al Khalifah, A., Aljubran, M., & Alkhalifah, M. (2020). Sentiment Analysis of Tweets in Saudi Arabia Regarding Governmental Preventive Measures to Contain COVID-19. Preprints 2020, 2020040031. http://doi:doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0031.v1 Belli, B. (2020, March 24). Yale webinars: Using emotional intelligence to combat COVID-19 anxiety. https://news.yale.edu/2020/03/24/yale-webinars-using-emotional-intelligence-combat-covid-19-anxiety Kumar, A., Khan, S. U., & Kalra, A. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: a sentiment analysis: A short review of the emotional effects produced by social media posts during this global crisis. European Heart Journal, 41(39), 3782–3783. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa597 PMID:32678890 Kruspe, A., Häberle, M., Kuhn, I., & Zhu, X. X. (2020). Cross-language sentiment analysis of European Twitter messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.12172.

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Lwin, M. O., Lu, J., Sheldenkar, A., Schulz, P. J., Shin, W., Gupta, R., & Yang, Y. (2020). Global sentiments surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter: Analysis of Twitter trends. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), e19447. doi:10.2196/19447 PMID:32412418 Signorini, A., Segre, A. M., & Polgreen, P. M. (2011). The use of Twitter to track levels of disease activity and public concern in the US during the influenza A H1N1 pandemic. PLoS One, 6(5), e19467. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019467 PMID:21573238 Sooknanan, J., & Comissiong, D. M. G. (2020). Trending on social media: Integrating social media into infectious disease dynamics. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 82(7), 86. doi:10.100711538-02000757-4 PMID:32617673

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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COVID-19: A disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. Crisis: A time of intense difficulty or danger, particularly addressing the ongoing pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. Pandemic: An epidemic or disease occurring worldwide or over a very wide area while crossing international boundaries and affecting a large number of people. Sentiment Analysis: An application for systematically identifying, extracting, quantifying, and studying affective states and subjective information. Text Analysis: The process of automatically extracting high-quality information from text or different written sources.

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Chapter 18

Framing Crisis in Seattle During COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter: Faith in Generative Dialogue Holly Shelton University of Washington, USA Zhenzhen He-Weatherford Bellevue College, USA Shane R. Peterson University of Washington, USA Ahmad A. Alharthi University of Washington, USA

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ABSTRACT This study brings into conversation various discourses of faith groups with scientifc, government, and other organizations in order to trace how religious/spiritual communities frame societal crises through their language use in response to two interrelated crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent manifestations of systemic racism. The authors use theories and methodologies of metaphorical framing to analyze how diferent faith organizations communicated with their members or others about the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests in order to understand what role faith communities play in communicating public health and civil issues, what kinds of framing faith communities are mediating, and how their communication genres impact uptake. The authors’ analysis seeks to understand how faith communities can efectively mitigate the harms of these crises rhetorically and how generative dialogues could look in the future.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6732-6.ch018

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 Framing Crisis in Seattle During COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter

INTRODUCTION 面對這樣的危機,我們肩負著彼此相愛和關懷社區的使命 (Evangelical Chinese Church, 3/6)

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Faced with such a crisis, we shoulder the mission of loving each other and caring for our community. The deliberative sense of the word “crisis” as a process of selection and major turning point is particularly relevant to the global COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter (BLM) of 2020. In a March 1st “Interim Guidance for COVID-19” statement addressed to public health communicators, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended building partnerships with community leaders and stakeholders. Among such stakeholders, the authors specifically examine the role that faith organizations play in communicating about public health and civil crises, especially as this communication coordinates activity between governments, health organizations, and activist groups. Such faith groups represent existing social networks, and many of them provide publicly available genres of communication, which explicitly processed their values throughout 2020. The interface between government, science, health, civil, and religious communications on these crises provide opportunities to examine how information is reconceptualized in meaningful ways. From a database of several hundred public-facing texts curated over a four-month period (MarchJune of 2020), this study draws on frame analysis, frame alignment, and embodied cognition/metaphors from social movement studies and linguistics to document communication about the outbreak (Goffman, 1986; Lakoff & Johnson, 2003; Snow & Benford, 1988). This study also uses the concept of uptake from rhetorical genre studies to show how these frames are conditioned through genres such as online services, newsletters, organizational websites, and social media posts (Freadman, 2002; Reiff & Bawarshi, 2016). As interpretive processes, framing and uptake are particularly suited to addressing how faith communities grapple with and navigate responses that align with their own values and new government and health policies and recommendations. Specific guiding questions include: What role do faith communities play in communicating public health and civil issues? What kinds of framing are faith communities mediating? How are communication genres impacting uptake? As Pennycook (2010) has pointed out, dynamic global and local circumstances lead to emergent language practices, so this study sketches a contextual timeline of large-scale events but focuses primarily on the area around Seattle in Washington state as a local setting within a global context. Local circumstances are inherently and rhizomatically connected to other sites and circumstances but manifest elements of those issues differently. Seattle experienced the earliest confirmed case of COVID-19 in the US, so the response and processing time in western Washington state began earlier than other areas of the country. Also, the activities in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle during the renewed, international BLM protests inspired strong emotions and drew national attention. This study brings into conversation discourses of religious groups with various scientific, government, and activist communities. COVID-19 and the BLM movements are two interrelated examples of crisis, and our analysis considers how generative dialogues could look in the future. To set the chronological context for the convergent developments of crisis, Appendix 1 summarizes major events impacting Seattle for the first six months of 2020. Dates specifically related to racial issues have been italicized.

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ENTRYPOINTS/BACKGROUND Several interdisciplinary threads of conversation converge to guide this inquiry. The sections below weave together the study’s dynamic approach to crisis, some challenges in discussing matters of faith, and a brief introduction to relevant interdisciplinary traditions.

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Etymology and Perspectives on Crisis Etymologically, the origin of the term “crisis” is traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root krei- for “seive,” or “discriminate, distinguish;” in ancient Greek usage by Hippocrates and Galen, this term evolved into krisis, or the “turning point in a disease, that change which indicates recovery or death,” (Harper, 2020). Aristotle adhered to the term krinein, referring to a similar critical moment in decision making in the realms of politics and governance during times of war or plague. In early 15th century, a Latinized form crisis is used to mean “vitally important or decisive state of things, point at which change must come, for better or worse,” (Harper, 2020). Ergo, the classical understanding of crisis largely overlaps with Kairos in terms of how the timing of events shape their rhetorical context and how others respond. While the medical sense of the word dwindled from English usage in the 1620s, the senses related to a process of selection and a decisive juncture remain relevant to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Another important connotation of the crisis in today’s world, is the aspect of a crisis being collectively perceived as unprecedented in comparison to other historic crises that came before. In relation to modernity, the complexities of globalization, industrialism, and major advancements in technology can render a given crisis to not just appear large and all-encompassing but also overlap, compound, or build off other connected crises. In other words, each of the crises of 2020 overlap or bleed into each other, to use a more medical framework. According to Rice (2012), “Crises and controversies are networks, and they invite our investigation into them. Inquiry is an endless survey of these networks within which a crisis is embedded” (p. 168). Yet we must distinguish between an “acute” or singular crisis as opposed to chronic crises that are direct results of entangled phenomena or enveloping forces—namely late-stage, carbon capitalism created and maintained by white supremacist, patriarchal ideologies. Therefore, we should not necessarily view concurrent crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM protests as being separate or independent from each other since one inevitably influences and shapes the other. As one example, Breonna Taylor served as an emergency room technician, resting after a work shift in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak that has overburdened America’s healthcare system until police officers broke into her home and killed her on March 13, 2020. In conjunction with other recent murders of other Black Americans like George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of police, Taylor’s death has helped spark waves of protests and a resurgence of the BLM movement even in the midst of a global pandemic. These protests were made possible by the subsequent lockdowns and quarantines that have placed millions of Americans at home and out of work, desperate for avenues to vent their anger and frustration concerning the state of the world. Whether that be through using religious texts to help create community solidarity or drawing from apocalyptic discourses in preparing for greater cataclysms, millions of faithful people in the US have used various religious/spiritual frameworks, metaphors, genres, arguments, and other acts of rhetoric to address the crises, whether that be the pandemic, systemic racism, or both.

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Spiritual/Religious Terminology In social science and other disciplines, the term spirituality and religion have been used both interchangeably (spirituality/religion), in contrast to each other (spiritual vs. religion), and together (spirituality and religion). The World Psychiatry Association (WPA) Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry describes spirituality and religion as both “concerned with the core beliefs, values and experiences of human beings” (Moreira-Almeida et al., 2016, p. 87), demonstrating what Hill et al. (2001) describe as the “significant sociological and psychological overlap” among the two terms (p. 71). While there is certainly value in using a relatively broad and fluid definition of these two terms, it is also necessary to clarify how these two terms are perceived and used by the researchers of this project. When used separately and in contrast, spirituality and religion are typically used to differentiate the individual and the institutional. In this chapter, the term religion is used to refer to the more collective consciousness and practices in recognition of a supernatural power, while keeping some distance from the reified notion of religion that often reduces “an abstract process to a fixed objective entity expressed through a definable system (e.g., denominations, theological traditions, major world religions, etc.)” (Hill et al., 2001, p. 56). When the concept of spirituality is enacted in the framing and analysis of this chapter, its use aligns with what Spilka (1993) summarized as “a God-oriented spirituality where thought and practice are premised in theologies, either broadly or narrowly conceived,” other than the “world-oriented spirituality stressing one’s relationship with ecology or nature” or the “humanistic (or people-oriented) spirituality stressing human achievement or potential” (as cited in Hill et al., p. 57). To maneuver around the historical baggage of these two terms and to embrace their complexities, the term “faith” is more frequently used throughout the chapter. The authors also adhere to the argument about the problem of trying to separate these two terms from each other and agree with their proposal to treat the terms as multidimensional and interacting with each other:

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Beliefs and experiences that are considered to be an aspect of traditional religiousness (e.g., prayer, church attendance, reading of sacred writings, etc.) are also spiritual if they are activated by an individual’s search for the sacred. In the absence of information about why an individual engages in a particular religious or spiritual behavior, it can be difficult to infer whether that particular behavior is reflecting religiousness, spirituality, or both. (Hill et al., 2001, p. 71) The relative absence of spirituality and religion in scholarly inquiries has been noted in fields closely related to health (Lake, 2012; Parrott, 2004) but remains an elephant in the room in most humanities and social science research outside of religious studies. Even when they are part of the conversation, they are often positioned on the opposing side of the dichotomy with the scientific and intellectual domains, as in McLaren’s (2020) recent study on religious nationalism and the coronavirus pandemic. Yet the goal of this chapter is to put faith communities, science, and government in more complex and less polarized positions with each other and to illustrate ways they can and do productively interact with each other and work together. Although not as well-represented in literature, faith organizations have always been an important influence and agent in activism during times of crisis and sociocultural shifts (Hayhoe, 2019; O’Brien, 2012; Reed et al., 2016; Selby, 2008; Stephens et al., 2013).

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Framing and Uptake Goffman (1986) introduced the term “frame” in sociology as “the tacit understandings of reality constructed by individuals in social interaction” or “a shared definition of a situation” (Persson, 2018). He referred to these interactions and frames as simultaneously ritualized and vulnerable to transformation when at least two socially situated individuals attempt to define a situation, understand others in the situation, and act according to the situation. Within cognitive linguistics, Lakoff and Johnson (2003) indicate that human conceptual systems are largely metaphorical that are culturally systematic in facilitating perception, which can both highlight and hide aspects of the particular concept and shape how a situation and role of those involved is understood. Two concepts address such issues: frame alignment and uptake. Using empirical data from Buddhist and Hari Krishna movements, Snow et al. (1988) note that frame alignment occurs when unifying organization and individual interpretive conditions is a necessary condition for participation. Four major processes achieve this alignment through micromobilizations via communication like newsletters, phone calls, chanting, etc. The main alignment processes include:

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• • • •

frame bridging: linking compatible, but unconnected frames frame amplifcation: clarifying or bolstering a frame, including values or beliefs frame extension: extending primary frame boundaries to include interests outside main objectives frame transformation: establishing new values, rejecting old understandings, reframing misframings

Snow et al. (2014) revisit the contribution of frames to investigate discursive interaction within and across movements. Frame alignment further developed these insights by attending to mechanisms of reinterpretation, which built upon the underdeveloped general idea of “keying” frame transformations from Goffman and Berger (1986). They reiterate the importance of empirical data with content analysis and identify scholarly trends from primarily descriptive studies to those that trace causal relationships of framing actions. Crucially, they draw on a collection of other studies to conclude that “the mobilizing capacity of frames is dependent in part on the range of problems they address,” (Snow et al., 2014, p. 37). The success of frame alignment, then, depends on the capacity of these frames to respond to situations. Another relevant inroad to frame cultivation is “uptake,” which Freadman (2002) uses to describe the event of crossing boundaries between genres as a reinterpretation, translation and/or mediation of meaning (and action). An uptake is a reaction to the action intended through a genre and may confirm or reject the intended purpose of this genre by (re-)interpreting it. An uptake moves previous meanings into different conceptual frameworks and/or sets of assumption, so uptakes impact and naturalize how people understand and respond to situations. Various faith group genres (newsletters, websites, blogs, social media announcements, etc.) interface with their members and the public to condition particular uptakes, even though they cannot guarantee these uptakes. Freadman’s (2002) interest in conditioning of uptakes, Goffman and Berger’s (1986) keying of frame transformation, and Snow et. al.’s (2014) alignment of frames represent resonant forms of inquiry into the process of how interpretative frames develop and come to be aligned or taken up.

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Framing & Uptake Applied Harding (1987) shows that religious conversion involves a process of internalizing rhetoric, and language framing has a significant impact on how people interpret their experiences of the world. Hyzy (1997) traces frame alignment processes in social justice initiatives to show that “peace” and “peace work” is an interpretive frame for Quakers while peace functions as a value within the frame of “living the gospel” for Catholics. Three illustrative scenarios below sketch some applied principles of framing and uptake during previous crisis periods in the US. In each situation, language use creates framing for situations, which then influences the way people interpret and respond to those situations, namely Hurricane Katrina, the civil rights era, and climate change. These examples were chosen specifically for their intersection of scientific, faith, and civil communication/action. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, drew national attention in 2005. Religious language was intimately interwoven into responses as the event was characterized as an “act of God,” an unforeseeable or unpreventable phenomenon. Stephens et al. (2013) found that religious meaning-making was situationally emergent, and the use of this term was significantly connected to the directness of people’s experience with suffering. They write, “Objective experiences (e.g., seeing dead bodies) were better predictors of religious meaning-making than relatively subjective psychological reactions to those experiences, “e.g., fear” (Stephens et al., 2013, p. 606). However, for Act-of-God rhetoric on a larger social scale, Vaught (2009) also found that “usage of the term [act-of-God] often absolved individuals and institutions from personal responsibility and economic liability” (p. 408). In addition to individual meaning-making, spiritual terminology has ideological and material impacts on policy and organized responses to moments of crisis. During the civil rights movement, religious language was often evoked as metaphorical framing to interpret circumstances and coordinate action. Selby (2008) documents Martin Luther King, Jr.’s use of the Exodus narrative as a symbolic framework to situate setbacks within an overall journey toward greater freedom for black Americans. Reed et al. (2016) trace frame misalignment in Cairo, Illinois, or contention in the symbolic frameworks of different groups in the “civil religion” of public discourse. Civil rights movement leaders used prophetic symbolic frameworks by centering equality, freedom, and justice. Meanwhile, countermovement organizations used priestly symbolic frameworks by emphasizing law and order. These contested frameworks of movement and countermovement demonstrate the uptake of civil religious metaphorical frames as a process of selection where interpretation connects to conditioning from past experiences and societal positioning. Metaphorical frames have also proven significant for uptake in acknowledgement and responses to climate change as a crisis. O’Brien (2012) argues that the war-on-climate-change framework using martial rhetoric can potentially divide audiences more than an invitational faith-integrated eco-justice framework. Similarly, climate scientist Hayhoe (2019) explains how framing climate change in the US as belief seemingly establishes a framework of idolatry, which some individuals and groups with religious convictions therefore reject. For better uptake of her scientific work in communication with faith groups, she takes a values-based approach around impacts on vulnerable people to disrupt this framework of idolatry.

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METHODS Many faith groups have some form of digital communication with the public. The researchers for this chapter were already receiving regular email updates via newsletter from various faith-based organizations when a large number of COVID-19 communications created a noticeable blip on the radar in early March. For the first round of broader data collection, the researchers issued a call on social media for COVID-19 communications from other faith organizations across their personal networks. The next stage of text collection involved searching for additional faith-based organizations and taking screenshots or printing PDFs of these organizations’ texts with COVID-19 information. They also added themselves to mailing lists for these organizations whenever possible. During this time, many organizations’ websites began prompting site visitors to sign up for their newsletter via pop-up windows. In addition, many organizations either began or continued to post texts online, which increased availability. The governor’s office and Washington State Department of Health also offered newsletter updates. Analysis in this study considers texts March through June, 2020. It is important to note that not all faith-based organizations are represented in this study, and faithbased organization structures vary widely. Digital accessibility also entails vulnerability, and some groups, especially marginalized ones, may prioritize protecting their beliefs or have alternative ways of communicating with their members and the public. To not intrude on sacred spaces and traditions, the researchers did not seek any information that was not publicly accessible online. Some faith groups also rely on more prominent hierarchies or centralized communication over local congregations, as was the case for organizations like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For others, communication at congregation and higher levels such as the diocese or national/international configurations could be significant. While the researchers intentionally sought to include diversity of faith traditions, the vast majority of texts are predominantly Christian churches. Coding relied on grounded theory in which patterns were allowed to emerge from the texts themselves, rather than preconceived categories applied to the data in a reiterative process.

ANALYSIS

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Following Lakoff and Johnson (2003), the sections below identify significant metaphors with examples listed from the corpus of faith organization texts. Examples are listed chronologically to present an overarching narrative and show development over time. Excerpts were chosen to create an illustrative and representative cluster, rather than exhaustive treatment.

Frames The frames listed below establish a baseline of common discourses in circulation with Seattle area faith groups during the crisis period. While locally distinct, they connect to pandemic and racial responses in other areas as worldwide entangled phenomena. Examples also represent officially sanctioned, publicfacing communication, not private or personal frames in which individual members, parishioners, or adherents may also be exposed, involved, or invested. Evidence suggests some frames became or remained vulnerable and contested at different stages of the pandemic or BLM protests. Circumstances continue to develop in October and November of 2020 when this chapter was written. 348

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COVID-19 is a Threat: Natural Disaster or Active Shooter The metaphor of natural disaster and/or active shooter allows for the situation to be treated as an emergency response. The natural disaster and active shooter frames are distinct, but their purposes are similar in establishing an outside threat. The terminology of sheltering is used for active shooter situations when people should hide and/or secure their own location and wait for harm to pass. Governor Inslee declared a state of emergency for the state on February 29, and Mayor Jenny Durkan declared a state of emergency for the city of Seattle on March 3, which made new resources available for responding to COVID-19. The first natural disaster example uses the terminology of epicenter, which references an earthquake scenario while the second example explicitly describes the pandemic as a storm. We have, sadly, become the epicenter of this event in the US for the moment. (Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, 3/5) We thank everyone for their understanding as we all work to weather this storm together. Please take care of yourselves and those around you and be sure to check in on others who may be in need of extra help or attention at this time. (Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, 4/6) As we shelter-in-place, we still want to remember the journey that our ancestors took from captivity into freedom on this important Jewish holiday [Passover]. This moment in history provides a unique opportunity for us to connect in new ways, learn new methods of doing life #togetherathome and to celebrate our traditions in innovative ways. (Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 4/4) Please remember that there is no obligation to attend Sunday Mass at this time. Particularly vulnerable persons are strongly encouraged to continue to shelter in place. Anyone who is experiencing any symptoms whatsoever, such as fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, MUST remain at home out of consideration for the health and wellbeing of others. (St. James Cathedral, 6/25)

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Pandemic is Combat The metaphor of combat or war rallies support for medical workers and encourages participation from community members through solidarity and/or support measures. Much of the language indicates battle lines and positioning, such as standing with health workers or against the virus. This frame interfaces with the value of solidarity addressed in a later section. The first example references “combat” and “escalation;” the second identifies an outbreak battle “front line” accompanied by prayer “for” members and “against” racism; and the third describes “confrontation” and being “hit” by the pandemic. Central to the effort to combat the outbreak are proper handwashing, cough hygiene, disinfecting surfaces, and remaining home from work or school when sick. […] However, with the escalating prevalence of Covid-19 infections in our region […] (Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 3/3) So as a Body, please pray for those who are older in our congregation, have health concerns, and for the doctors and other health professionals who are on the front lines of this outbreak. And lastly, there are

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widespread accounts of prejudice against Asian people because the virus originated in China – please pray against an unfounded spirit of fear and prejudice! (Rainier Avenue Church, 3/5) The coronavirus pandemic affects everyone. Every day we confront struggles, large and small. In this time of hardship, vulnerable refugee families are among the hardest hit. (Kol HaNeshamah, 5/12)

Digital Platforms are Space/Together With restrictions on physical meetings and transition to digital platforms, many faith groups moved from a digitally distant framework to digitally proximal one. These groups began talking about gathering, togetherness, and connection online rather than the initial logistical notifications about resources available at digital resources to be sent and received. There was also explicit discussion around legitimacy and permissibility of digital participation in these spiritual services that continued over time. Such discussions often relied on values such as care, protecting vulnerable community members, respect for authorities, etc. The first two examples talk about “sending,” “bringing,” and “posting” resources along with “canceling” or “forgoing” time together. The second two examples talk about “inviting,” “joining,” and “coming” to digital events/spaces. We are cancelling our in-person Purim programming on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. However, we will send you videos and resources to help bring the joy of Purim to your home. (Temple Beth Am, 3/5) Pastor [...] will post sermons on our website for each of those Sundays we do not gather for worship, and will add Bible study reflections each week in lieu of in-person sessions. We are sad to forego our sacred time together, and we know that we are participating in something greater than simply our worshiping body. (Admiral Congregational Church, 3/6) Invite friends, coworkers and family members who are not attending church to worship with us online. During this time people are turning to faith to cope. This is a perfect time to evangelize and reach out. Also, get dressed up! These are bizarre times, which call for bizarre action. Put on make-up, a dress, do your hair and put on a nice crisp shirt and join us for Easter dressed up in your own homes. (New Life Fellowship, 4/4)

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Join us every Wednesday morning [for virtual prayer gathering] at whichever time works best for your schedule. We’ll pray for UPC and for revival and renewal. Come all prayer warriors! (University Presbyterian Church, 5/30)

Pandemic is a Time/Season Groups had various ways of signaling that the crisis experience was a time period “set apart” from normal circumstances. “Times” were often described as uncertain, challenging, difficult, turbulent, etc. Please remember that the Talmud teaches that resilience means that a person “should be soft like a reed, not hard like a cedar.” (BTal, Ta’anit 20a) This outbreak of COVID-19 is stressful, especially for our community here in King County. These times call for flexibility, calm and kindness. Let us take this as

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an opportunity to slow down and reconnect with ourselves, with our loved ones, and with what matters most to us. (Temple Beth Am, 3/5) I am so proud of you, our church body, who have continued to be the Church during these strange and difficult times. I look forward to the day when we can be together again. I know that as we slowly transition to gathering in-person, we will continue to be the Church that follows Jesus together. (Alderwood Community Church, 6/26) Framing of the pandemic time period as “a season” in particular highlights the finite nature of this time period within a larger scale or temporal perspective. And may this season cause us to grow in compassion. Millions of people in our world live with substantial uncertainty—not only during this time, but in all times. Those who are poor or powerless have their lives regularly disrupted or devastated by things beyond their control, and racist systems and beliefs endanger people of color. May our own uncertainty help us understand more deeply what so many people feel all the time. (Lighthouse Community Church, 5/20) On Monday, we’ll be joined via Livestream by Dr. [...] of Seattle Pacific University, addressing our congregation about Race, Place, and—unique to our current season—how we can reconcile the disparities while being socially distant. (Bethany Green Lake, 6/17) Amidst a season like no other—full of challenges, hostility, and loss—Pastor [...] takes a moment to thank you for your faithfulness to the Gospel of Christ, your generosity to your neighbors, and your heart for justice. […] As we continue to follow God’s calling to serve Seattle and beyond in this difficult season, your giving makes an incredible difference. You can do so online. (Bethany Community Church, 6/26)

Pandemic is Geography The metaphor of a journey or the developing situation as rough/uncertain geography recognizes challenging circumstances while assuming progress. This metaphor becomes more explicit in the wilderness metaphor specifically, which was a unique contribution of faith communities distinct from secular conversations. In the examples below, the language references a river, mountain, water, and ocean respectively.

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This early and proactive work will have positive results downstream. (Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 3/3) I want to reiterate how difficult it is from this vantage point to stay on top of everything, but how very much we are trying. (Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, 3/5) I want to encourage you during times like these that are kind of uncharted seas for us, unpredictable. We serve a great God. He’s still in charge. (Bethany Christian Assembly, 3/11) A journey through wilderness was particularly relevant for, but not exclusive to, groups during the season of Lent and/or preparing for Passover and Easter. It highlights the values of community and 351

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working together, which connect to the solidarity discussed in later sections. Wilderness also focuses on long-term sustenance. Fear does have its place. But like every other emotion, the devil can use fear to undermine our faith. Fear, then [sic] becomes a sin when it causes us to doubt our Lord’s promise that He is always with us leading us to a place of disbelief. This is what happened to the people of Israel. After Moses lead [sic] them to freedom from the bondage of the Egyptians, they wondered [sic] in the desert for forty years simply because they gave into their fear and refused to obey the Lord. They allowed fear to paralyze them and as a result the generation of Moses missed the Lord’s promise of the blessings of the promised land…. (Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption, 5/27) In March, in response to the growing COVID-19 public health crisis, Washington State issued a “stay at home” order. At that time, I sent you an email, detailing the decision we had made to close the First Church building and create Sunday worship experiences virtually. I also invited you to reflect on the story in 1 Kings 17 about Elijah being fed by ravens while lost in a ravine. God used ravens to sustain Elijah as he waited until it was time for the next stage of his journey. (Seattle First Church, 6/27)

Racial Frame: Justice Race issues were strongly defined as (in-)justice situations. Secular discourses during this period revolved around the distinction between protests and riots, reinvigorating previous frames during the civil rights movement of prophetic (freedom) and priestly (law and order) frames; however, faith communities in Seattle tended to anchor responses within a justice framework. Justice often collocated with taking a stand, standing with, standing for, and standing against systemic racism. Other values sometimes paired with justice were reconciliation and unity. Most groups did not reference Black Lives Matter specifically as an organization but did write messages in support of “Black Lives” and identified individuals killed by name such as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Unique to the list below, the first quote addresses early anti-Asian racism related to COVID-19, which preceded later attention on anti-Black racism.

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Our community is dedicated to working for justice for all people, and as such, we remind you that epidemics can cause community networks to fray. The Wisconsin Council of Churches advises, “At this time, there are reported increases in bias against people of Asian descent, including (but not limited to) Chinese Americans. This racial/ethnically coded stigma is hurtful and inaccurate. Help interrupt racism and fear when you see and hear it. People of Asian descent aren’t any more likely to get the coronavirus than any other American. (Seattle First Baptist Church, 3/5) Biblical Justice and the Death of Black People Monday, June 1, 7pm, Zoom Meeting A conversation between Pastor Aaron Williams, Rev. Chipo Johnson, Chris Thurton, and Chris Nichols about the current crises around the death of Black people in our country.

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We’ll explore the impact of these deaths on our communities of color and how we can respond. We’ll discuss Biblical Justice and our role as followers of Christ. We’ll talk about what the White community needs to be learning and hearing and how the entire Christian community can partner for justice in our society. (University Presbyterian Church, 5/30) “Justice” video by Bible project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A14THPoc4-4 (Every Nation Church, 6/3) Racial justice and reconciliation reading group Join other Shoreline CRC members in a reading group to explore God’s calling to us as Christians with respect to racial justice and reconciliation. (Shoreline Christian Reformed Church, 6/17) Join KHN to demand justice for George Floyd AND national & local accountability for police violence. Tikkun Olam is posting resources and information to take action in defense of Black Lives. (Kol HaNeshamah, 6/23)

Racial Frame: Grieving/Lament Grieving and lamenting were common responses to racial tensions, specifically the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breona Taylor, and George Floyd. Lament references often included contextual forms of definition. As Rah (2015) notes, lament is a practice of Christian tradition often neglected in North American churches, so alignment often required some recovery for amplification. Racial Justice Forum & Prayer: With the recent events surrounding Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and now, George Floyd, we felt the need to gather together in a necessary forum/conversation about racial justice. We will be gathering together through a Zoom Meeting on Thursday, June 4th - 7pm-9pm. It will be a time of sharing, discussion, and lamenting together as a community. Please join us for this much-needed discussion. (Lighthouse Christian Church 5/28)

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“I Can’t Breathe” – Action in Solidarity With Black Communities In the past week, many of us have also had difficulty breathing [...] and processing, understanding, explaining, acting, and healing. Many of us are grieving, asking “How many more?!” and “When will it end?!” We are wondering what (else) to do, and how we change a system that attacks, dehumanizes, criminalizes, terrorizes, and even kills—so often with impunity—our Black brothers and sisters, and other people of color. (Muslim Association of Puget Sound, 6/2) Lament Service via Zoom: Lament is an act of faith that gives words to our heartache and grief, and invites God into our story. In this service, we’ll make space to voice our pain in the presence of God and one another. (Bethany Green Lake, 6/17)

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New Sermon Series: Nevertheless Join us this Sunday as we begin to walk through the story of Habakkuk in our new series, Nevertheless. We will encounter the prophet Habakkuk lamenting and crying out to God, asking a question you may also be asking yourself, “Is God good when the world is falling apart?” We will be reminded that when the bottom falls out, God is still there. (Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 6/26)

Frame Alignment While the previous section identifies patterns of common frames in circulation, this particular section illustrates processes of frame alignment, of which faith groups used various and complex forms.

Frame Bridging Linking two different yet compatible frames was one method of alignment. St. James Cathedral highlights the video link to a sermon that juxtaposes a religious and secular observance together. In Catholic tradition, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration of devotion to divine love for humanity. Meanwhile, Juneteenth is a celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the US, and there were some calls in 2020 to make Juneteenth a nationally recognized holiday. By recognizing this secular holiday alongside a religious one, it linked value-based frames of freedom and love together. In case you missed it! On Friday, June 19, Deacon [...] of Immaculate Conception Parish preached powerfully on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which coincided this year with the commemoration of Juneteenth. (St. James Cathedral, 6/26)

Frame Amplification Clarifying and emphasizing applicable values or beliefs was a common method of frame alignment in coordinating crisis response. When state guidelines restricted gathering sizes, many groups framed their logistic communication through values or beliefs from their traditions relevant to the situation. Amplification also involved prioritizing certain values/beliefs over others of importance to the group. The Mitzvah that cancels all other Mitzvot in Jewish tradition is that of Pikuach Nefesh—literaly, “saving lives.” [sic.] As such, in consulting with [...], Bet Alef’s Board President, and with the support of our entire Board of Directors, we are letting you know that we are canceling this Shabbat’s celebrations both tomorrow evening, Friday, and Saturday morning. (Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 3/5)

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Frame Extension Treating the pandemic or civil action around racial tensions could not be seen as merely incidental to a group’s interests to respond in meaningful ways. Governing orders restricting gathering sizes required immediate logistical responses. However, one clear example of boundary extension related to the early pandemic notification and awareness raising. The bishop for the Greater Northwest Area United Methodist Conference extends traditional attention on spiritual wellbeing to physical health.

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The way John Wesley held spiritual and social holiness together is a mark of Methodist distinction. He studied and wrote extensively about medicine and the importance of maintaining a healthful life both spiritually and physically. Let’s follow his example. Let’s work for holiness of body as well as spirit. (Greater Northwest Area United Methodist Conference, 2/27)

Frame Transformation Frame transformation is potentially the most contested form of frame alignment in that an established frame already taken up would need to be rejected in favor of a new one. Examples from the pandemic and racial responses exhibit the vulnerable status of frames and the selection process involved in uptake. In contextualizing his new directives for congregations on sacraments and gathering in early March, the archbishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia addresses concerns of at least one parishioner about reliance on natural sources of deliverance over divine/miraculous ones. Acknowledging the alternative frame, he shifts a misframing of “trusting God” in this situation, drawing on scripture and theological tradition. Cooperation is framed as a calling and responsibility at the expense of maintaining traditional routines. In the midst of our current “wilderness,” we too have to think, live, and act relationally, while physically being apart. This is our Lenten journey now, a real one, where we are going to have to give up some of our precious routines, things we love, like the common cup, like coming together closely for worship, and now even gathering at all. We are being called to “co-operate” with God. In my reading of the commentary on this passage, the commentator Terrence Fretheim wrote these words: “God is the creator and has made the world of nature in such a way that it has positive capacities. Human beings need to be alert to the potential resources within creation for resolving creational issues.” God did not create water out of thin air, but instead led Moses to water, in the rocks, where it resides. He showed Moses the part of creation where this thirst could be quenched.

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I actually had a person say to me, “Why don’t you just trust God and not put out any directives?” To which I replied, “I do trust God, very much, and I do believe God will help us, but perhaps where my theology and yours differs is that ‘God’s help’ is going to come largely through each of us.” We are “how” God does this, through us. If you stand on the side of the road and pray for God to help you get to the other side. That is not going to happen, unless you engage your brain, your muscles, your movement, and get moving. God will be with you in that stroll across the street, and in you too, but to get there you are going to have to “co-operate.” (Episcopal Diocese, 3/15) In a late May letter published in the Seattle Times and Seattle Medium newspapers issued before the death of George Floyd and protests began, 192 pastors in the Seattle area declared their stance toward racial justice using confession/profession terminology. Racism and silence around racism are acknowledged as sin (an “original stain”) to be “repented.” Both “calling” and “commitment” reference a conversion process. Silence on race issues is abandoned in favor of active opposition. They shift a historic misfram-

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ing of racism as peripheral to church activity to a systemic and central issue. Many of the participating churches who signed this letter also posted a version of it on their website or organizational blog. We repent of the silence of evangelical leaders on this issue, and we commit ourselves to continuing and increasing our efforts to put an end to this original stain on our nation’s history in Gospel, hope for a better future for all Americans. Jesus is our peace and he has destroyed the dividing walls of hostility (Ephesians 2:14), and we are called to work toward that better day. (We Stand with Ahmaud Arbery and All People of Color, 5/20)

Key Amplifications Three values played a crucial role in frame amplification during this period: not succumbing to fear, solidarity, and positive identity.

Key Value: Fear A continuing trend throughout the crisis period remained managing fear/anxiety. During early stages of awareness/notification and logistics around transferring to digital services instead of in-person ones, fear is contrasted or balanced with references to other more positive values such as preparation, wisdom, caution, and responsibility, all serving to prevent resource hording (toilet paper, groceries, etc.) and social networks fraying (racial profiling, economic vulnerability, etc.). As the situation developed from a notification stage to sustaining phase, fear is often contrasted with other values like love, faith, and generosity. Later, groups discussed embracing negative emotions like fear as opportunities for transformation and decision-making. God goes before you to lead you. God goes behind you to protect you. God goes beneath you to support you. God goes beside you to befriend you. Do not be afraid. And may the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you. Do not be afraid. Wash your hands. Amen. (UW Graduate Christian Fellowship, 3/6)

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We are not fearful but we must be mindful since we gather many times a week to worship together, greet one another, eat food together and more. Much of what we do brings us into close contact with hundreds of other people and it’s wise and good for use to take more precautions because of our size and frequency of gatherings. Being cautious is not fear—it’s just responsible. Being careful does not lack faith—it’s being mindful of other people around us. (Northwest Church, 3/9) Yes, fear can undermine faith, but fear can also strengthen faith, when our trust and hope is in the Lord. Fear then become a powerful teacher inviting us to focus beyond our problems, on the promise of our Lord, and on the hope that we have in Christ’s joyful resurrection. (Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption, 5/27)

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Key Value: Solidarity One key value observed among many religious groups to frame their statements addressing the pandemic and BLM movement was solidarity, often evoked as both calls for unity and commitment to support others during a crisis. During the pandemic, some church groups indicated that they stood in solidarity with essential workers in healthcare or the service industry. In these instances, the church leaders and spokespeople wanted to valorize government mandated essential workers as heroes in this collective fight. This solidarity and “standing together” is similar to many other responses to protests against police brutality and systemic racism and the protests that followed, in which various faith groups across the Seattle area put out statements of solidarity with the black community to show support with racial justice movements. Some churches in Seattle even coordinated with other denominations and faith groups to create a united front and a unified commitment toward eradicating racism within their belief systems. Part of this commitment toward racial justice and solidarity with vulnerable communities involves rejecting older beliefs they now recognize to be harmful in order to adopt newer, more salient values or interpretations, all articulated through religious language. We [stand] in solidarity with those affected by the coronavirus and their families, and the health workers who are trying to diagnose and treat patients. (Muslim Association of Puget Sound 3/1) Let’s encourage the heroes among us! We would like to get letters and emails out to UPC healthcare workers and those at our local and global partner ministries that are on the front lines caring for vulnerable populations. (University Presbyterian Church 5/16) As White, Evangelical Christian pastors and leaders who seek to emulate Jesus Christ in love for people of all nations, tongues and tribes (Revelation 7:9), we stand beside African Americans to lament this interracial violence and all expressions of hate. (We Stand with Ahmaud Arbery and All People of Color, 5/28)

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Key Value: Identity & Positioning As discussed earlier, frames coordinate understanding and action of situations, and metaphorical conceptions impact how and what is understood by whom. Identity is part of frames in defining who is involved in interpreting and acting upon situations. A relational and sociocultural approach towards identity defines it as the “social positioning of self and other” that “emerges and circulates in local discourse contexts of interaction” (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005, p. 585). The following quotes demonstrate multi-faceted social positionings between the faith organizations’ imagined audience (readers of these emails and newsletters) and “others” that they are interacting with, such as who the congregation is in relation to each other, to the divine, and to governing authorities. The family metaphor is frequently used to create a sense of unity and oneness (“as a church family”). Some discourses also draw a line and acknowledge different or opposing sides, with a focus of facilitating interactions with each other (“pray for our enemies”). Positioning in relation to authority is based on respect or obedience (“to go against our God, not against a man”) and also from a place of agency (“take it to God in prayer”). Similarly, the contrasting idea of an “upstander” (as opposed to a bystander) emphasizes a sense of urgency, agency, and calls for action.

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On Sunday, we will have an opportunity to stand together as a church family to make a positive statement to our community that we are a church that stands for justice, reconciliation, and the hope and healing we have in Jesus. (BelPres Racial Justice & Reconciliation Team, 6/5) This seems quite controversial, but the Bible calls us to pray for our enemies. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Pray for George and Travis McMichael (Shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery), Officer Derek Chauvin (George Floyd), and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove (Breona Taylor). (New Life Fellowship, 5/30) But no matter how you feel about the governor or his orders, we know one thing—that God is in control. Everything that is happening is happening by God’s sovereign will. And because of that, we have nothing to fear. And because of this, we can obey his orders and not resist them. Listen to what the Apostle says in Romans 13:1-2 [...] In other words, if you resist this order, you are not resisting a man, but you are resisting God himself. This does not mean you cannot question the order, critique the order, speak out against it, but to deliberately disobey the order is to go against our God, not against a man. If you disagree with the order, take it up with God. Pray to the one who is in control. Our governor is not in charge; God is. If you want these orders lifted, take it to God in prayer. He is a loving, kind, good, merciful Father who listens and counsels his people. God invites you to lament and to speak out to him. (New Life Fellowship, 5/2) Be a Jewish upstander: Supporting Immigrants and Refugees During COVID- Supporting Immigrants and Refugees During COVID-19 (Kol HaNeshamah, 5/12)

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Besides human-oriented identities, divine identities are also enacted to scaffold interpretations of options available in reaction to difficulties caused by the pandemic, disagreements on government policies, and urgent needs. The creator versus the created identities make an attempt to shift the focus to the purpose and meaning of an individual being beyond personal needs and fulfillment (“You were made by God and for God”). The spiritual metaphor of “God’s kingdom” implies an identity outside the perceivable material circumstances that can still be activated and acted upon, due to stability and continuity even amidst the pandemic. The light metaphor points to a divine existence as the source of light from “within” as a way of resisting “the worst” in people. It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will not make sense. —Rick Warren (Cited by Lighthouse Christian Church, 5/27) Join us as we look at supernatural values of the kingdom to incorporate in our natural, everyday lives. During COVID it may feel difficult for many of us to experience or activate God’s kingdom BUT the presence of God’s kingdom is not moved because of a pause, lifestyle change, or even a virus that is impacting the world. The kingdom of God is still here + God is calling us to experience and activate His kingdom in this season [...]Our prayer is that Mosaic wouldn’t just be hearers of the word, but do-

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ers! When we activate the word of God in our everyday life, it transforms us. Utilize these guides to help you #activatethekingdom daily! (Mosaic Community Church, 5/5) As we’ve seen, the isolation and stress of this pandemic is bringing out the best in some people, and the worst in others. I’m reminded of something Elisabeth Kubler-Ross once said: “People are like stainedglass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” May Jesus, the Light of the World (John 8:12), fill you with faith, hope and love. And when the darkness sets in, may his beauty shine from within you. Be a Lighthouse. We love you and are praying for you. (Lighthouse Christian Church, 5/27)

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FINAL THOUGHTS & FUTURE DIRECTIONS Faith communities are an important potential source for generative dialogue in coordinating crisis response. Generative dialogue refers to an emergent, interdisciplinary concept (Petta, 2018; Ratcliffe, 2005) to describe any deliberation in which all participants act in good faith, share a common goal toward addressing a salient issue, and orient themselves toward action. For example, the call to “pray for our enemies” (New Life Fellowship, 5/30) softens the dichotomy between the police force (the oppressor) and African American victims such as George Floyd (the oppressed) and promotes spiritual openness that will lead to more mutual understanding of the systemic nature of racism and lived experiences on all (not just two) sides. Reflection and action based on the idea of the divine creation with a purpose (as in “made by God and for God,” Lighthouse Christian Church, 5/27) shifts the focus from an individualistic notion of personal needs and fulfillment to a more collective thinking of individual’s role in the big picture and actions that can be taken to change the situation. Similarly, the idea that one can disagree with government orders but is discouraged to deliberately disobey (New Life Fellowship, 5/2) leaves room for reflection with a spiritual or more authoritative divine presence, respectful questioning, and further exploration/dialogues. In relation to Kairos as the timing of a communicative act, crises reveal key moments in which coordinated action is required given the complexity and interconnectedness of these large-scale issues. Yet as dataset shows, often Kairos functions as an evocation in how rhetors not only address but instill their audience with a sense of crisis and how they themselves should respond, such as church leaders telling their lay members to stay calm and be at peace because God is still in control. Furthermore, Kairos also involves opportunities for deep reflection over what a given crisis has revealed since crises unto themselves can serve as “revelations” of injustices or inequalities in our society. For example, there have been increasing conversations around race (justice, racial reconciliation, etc.) within faith communities while the BLM movement has mobilized around the time of large protests in the Seattle area and elsewhere. Finally, these moments of crisis also contain moments of divergences of thought and belief, such as contrasting discourses within faith communities (religious-driven protests against no-gathering order vs. different voices from other leaders encouraging people to obey authority). How these divergences and differences materialize or manifest themselves are critical to untangle, trace, and analyze in terms of fostering cohesion and promoting coordination efforts devoted to solving societal crises. The patterns observed in frames and alignment during the analysis collectively serve to promote social cohesion and solidarity or identification across groups. They outline and affirm individuals’ role within a social context, connecting to bigger perspectives beyond immediate circumstances and 359

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coordinated responses. The tool serves this purpose has been termed in the literature of genre studies as “intermediary genre” and is defined as “a genre that facilitates the uptake of a genre by another genre” (Tachino, 2012, p. 455). Differently, intermediary genres serve to transfer knowledge from one discourse community to another. These public communication texts from faith communities in this study frames members’ responses in other situations. Crisis response takes place across a wider activity system, but faith communities help in socially cohesive uptakes. As a cautionary tale where generative dialogue was either not enacted (at best) or actively disrupted (at worst), two events stand in contrast to the baseline Seattle response from faith communities, which widely coordinated with local pandemic responses and racial justice movements. On August 10th and September 7th, a musician and political activist from California, Sean Feucht (2020), held two large religious events in Seattle public spaces. Notably, Feucht also leads “Hold the Line Ministries,” a name which engages a framework of combat, positioning Christians on the defensive against other cultural forces lined up against them for attack. On his “Let Us Worship” webpage, Feucht writes, “Our freedom to worship God and obey His Word has come under unprecedented attack,” which bridges a framework of combat with a framework of persecution. These observations must remain only briefly sketched here since the primary scope of the study focused on the Seattle area and officially sanctioned communication of local faith communities. However, the example demonstrates various uptakes and frame alignment activities in wider circulation and the interconnected, relational nature of alignment and uptake in different localities. The first event, “Riots to Revival,” was held in Cal Anderson Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood where CHAZ/CHOP had previously been removed by police. The use of the term “riot” at a central location for secular racial justice activism in Seattle re-activates and adapts previous priestly frames from the Civil Rights era of valuing “law and order,” seeing civil disruption as threat, rather than freedom initiative. The second event, a “worship protest,” was part of Feucht’s “Let Us Worship” tour at major cities across the US. The double meaning for the name includes an invitation for participants to get together within physical space while also demanding permissibility to do so. Feucht serves as a volunteer worship musician at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Bethel issued a press release on their concerns about the lack of promised masks and distancing at his first in-person gathering in Redding. However, at Feucht’s later public events in Seattle and elsewhere, noncompliance with local government and health guidelines persisted among both leaders and attendees. An estimated 2,000 people participated in the second “Let Us Worship” event in Seattle, indicating that for some, digital gatherings as legitimate, meaningful spaces for services remained vulnerable to reframing as lack of freedom or fear. Noncompliance also suggests uptake of an idolatry framework around health regulations generally and masks specifically similar to previous responses to climate change as an inappropriate placement of ‘belief’ in crisis recognition and responses apart from God. This example illustrates pernicious framing of traditional symbols in contrast to the essential role of consistent, locally situated faith groups for greater community cohesion and accountability during extended crises. Positive frames and uptakes are not natural or guaranteed, but faith groups can help mediate their community members’ challenging circumstances through generative dialogue with other stakeholders.

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REFERENCES Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. doi:10.1177/1461445605054407 Center or Disease Control. (2020, March 1). Public health communicators: get your community ready. CDC.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/public-health-communicators-getyour-community-ready.html Feucht, S. [SeanFeucht]. (2020, July 3). Let Us Worship [Video]. YouTube. https://www.seanfeucht. com/letusworship Freadman, A. (2002). Uptake. In R. M. Coe, L. Lingard, & T. Teslenko (Eds.), The Rhetoric and Ideology of Genre: Strategies for Stability and Change (pp. 39–53). Hampton Press. Goffman, E., & Berger, B. M. (1986). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Northeastern University Press. Harding, S. F. (1987). Convicted by the Holy Spirit: The Rhetoric of Fundamental Baptist Conversion. American Ethnologist, 14(1), 167–181. doi:10.1525/ae.1987.14.1.02a00100 Harper, D. (2020). Crisis. Online Etymology Dictionary. Etymonline.com. Hayhoe, K. (2019, October 31). I’m a climate scientist who believes in God. Hear me out. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/opinion/sunday/climate-change-evangelical-christian.html Hill, P., Pargament, K., Hood, R., McCullough, J., Swyers, J., Larson, D., & Zinnbauer, B. (2001). Conceptualizing Religion and Spirituality: Points of Commonality, Points of Departure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30(1), 51–77. doi:10.1111/1468-5914.00119 Hyzy, K. (1997). Citizenship among the sainted: Quakers, Catholics, and frame-alignment processes in peace and social justice movements. Linfield College. Lake, J. (2012). Spirituality and religion in mental health: A concise review of the evidence. The Psychiatric Times, 29(3), 34–38. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/ chicago/9780226470993.001.0001

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McLaren, P. (2020). Religious nationalism and the coronavirus pandemic: Soul-sucking Evangelicals and Branch Covidians make America sick again. Postdigital Science and Education, 1-22. Moreira-Almeida, A., Sharma, A., van Rensburg, B., Verhagen, P., & Cook, C. (2016). WPA position statement on spirituality and religion in psychiatry. World Psychiatry; Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 15(1), 87–88. doi:10.1002/wps.20304 PMID:26833620 O’Brien, K. J. (2012). The “war” against climate change and Christian eco-justice: Ethical implications of martial rhetoric. Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, 16(2), 135–153. doi:10.1163/156853512X640842

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Parrott, R. (2004). Collective amnesia: The absence of religious faith and spirituality in health communication research and practice. Health Communication, 16(1), 1–5. doi:10.1207/S15327027HC1601_1 PMID:14979848 Pennycook, A. (2010). Language as a local practice. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203846223 Persson, A. (2018). Framing social interaction. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315582931 Petta, K., Smith, R., Chaseling, M., & Markopoulos, C. (2018). Generative dialogue: A concept analysis. Management in Education, 33(2), 53–61. doi:10.1177/0892020618780978 Rah, S. (2015). Prophetic lament: A call for justice in troubled times. IVP Books. Ratcliffe, K. (2005). Rhetorical listening: Identification, gender, whiteness. Southern Illinois University Press. Reed, J., Williams, R., & Ward, H. (2016). Civil religious contention in Cairo, Illinois: Priestly and prophetic ideologies in a “northern” civil rights struggle. Theory and Society, 45(1), 25–55. doi:10.100711186015-9262-7 Reiff, M., & Bawarshi, A. S. (2016). Genre and the performance of publics. Utah State University Press. doi:10.7330/9781607324430 Rice, J. (2012). Distant publics: Development rhetoric and the subject of crisis. University of Pittsburgh Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt5vkftk Selby, G. (2008). Martin Luther King and the rhetoric of freedom: The Exodus narrative in America’s struggle for civil rights. Baylor University Press. Snow, D., Benford, R., McCammon, H., Hewitt, L., & Fitzgerald, S. (2014). The emergence, development, and future of the framing perspective: 25 years since “Frame Alignment.”. Mobilization: An International Quarterly (San Diego, Calif.), 19(1), 23–46. doi:10.17813/maiq.19.1.x74278226830m69l Snow, D. A., & Benford, R. D. (1988). Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization. In B. Klandermans, H. Kriesi, & S. Tarrow (Eds.), From structure to action: Social movement participation across cultures (pp. 197–217). JAI Press.

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Spilka, B. (1993, August). Spirituality: Problems and directions in operationalizing a fuzzy concept. A paper presented at American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada. Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., & Hamedani, M. G. (2012). Who explains Hurricane Katrina and the Chilean earthquake as an act of God? The experience of extreme hardship predicts religious meaning making. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(4), 606–619. doi:10.1177/0022022112454330 Tachino, T. (2012). Theorizing uptake and knowledge mobilization: A case for intermediary genre. Written Communication, 29(4), 455–476. doi:10.1177/0741088312457908 Vaught, S. (2009). An “act of God”: Race, religion, and policy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Souls, 11(4), 408–421. doi:10.1080/10999940903417276

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ADDITIONAL READING Angeli, E. L. (2012). Metaphors in the rhetoric of pandemic flu: Electronic media coverage of H1N1 and swine flu. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 42(3), 203–222. doi:10.2190/TW.42.3.b Baum, N. M., Jacobson, P. D., & Goold, S. D. (2009). “Listen to the people”: Public deliberation about social distancing measures in a pandemic. The American Journal of Bioethics, 9(11), 4–14. doi:10.1080/15265160903197531 PMID:19882444 Campbell, H. A. (2020). Religion in Quarantine: The Future of Religion in a Post-Pandemic World. OAKTrust. doi:10.21423/religioninquarantine Gibbs, R. (2017). Metaphor wars: Conceptual metaphors in human life. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781107762350 Lachlan, K. A., & Spence, P. R. (2011). Crisis communication and the underserved: The case for partnering with institutions of faith. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39(4), 448–451. doi:10 .1080/00909882.2011.608692 Pernot, L. (2006). The Rhetoric of Religion. Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric, 24(3), 235-254. Rivera, J. D., & Nickels, A. E. (2014). Social capital, community resilience, and faith‐based organizations in disaster recovery: A case study of Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 5(2), 178–211. doi:10.1002/rhc3.12050

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Frame: A tacit, yet interpretive way of understanding a situation and interactants. Frame Alignment: A process of linking frames between movements/organizations and members. Generative Dialogue: Any deliberation in which all participants act in good faith, share a common goal toward addressing a salient issue, and orient themselves toward action. Genre: A social action, event, or artifact that comes to be typically recognized and/or enacted in certain ways because of the repeated nature of situations/circumstances from which they emerge. Kairos: A concept of time from ancient Greek in contrast to chronological time; can be conceived as an opportune moment. Spirituality and Religion: Multidimensional and interacting terms related to human in relation to the divine, sometimes simplistically conceived as difference between individual and institutional. Uptake: A reaction to accept or reinterpret actions/meanings at the moment of crossing boundaries between genres.

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APPENDIX 16-Jan

WHO declares the outbreak of COVID-19 a global health emergency.

21-Jan

First COVID-19 case confirmed in US; Seattle area traveler returned from Wuhan, China.

23-Feb

Death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia by neighborhood vigilantes.

29-Feb

First COVID-19 death at Evergreen Health linked to Life Care Center in Kirkland, WA; other LCC residents and staff ill; Governor Inslee declares state of emergency for WA.

3-Mar

Episcopal Diocese of Olympia meets Inslee, discusses COVID-19 outbreak; Mayor Durkan declares state of emergency for city of Seattle; Queen Anne United Methodist Church organizes meeting of clergy, CDC, and King County Public Health.

5-Mar

Vice President Mike Pence arrives in WA to meet with Inslee about COVID-19.

9-Mar

Holi begins (Hindu).

10-Mar

Super spreader event: CDC reports 52 infected, 2 deaths from Mt. Vernon Skagit Valley Chorale practice at church despite following recommendations (Skagit County).

13-Mar

President Trump declares national emergency, identifies origin of virus in China and references “year of our Lord” on date; Inslee limits gatherings to 250 in all WA counties; Death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky by police.

14-Mar

Trump declares National Day of Prayer for pandemic.

20-Mar

Inslee sends Trump a letter requesting declaration of a federal major disaster.

23-Mar

Inslee announces “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” (extended through May 31).

24-Mar

Trump says appendix in interview he’d like economy open by Easter, referencing “packed churches.”

29-Mar

Goma Fire Ritual (Buddhist)

3-Apr

CDC reverses previous recommendation on not wearing masks in public.

8-Apr

Passover begins (Jewish).

12-Apr

Easter (Christian)

13-Apr

Governors Newsom (CA), Brown (OR), and Inslee (WA) sign Western States Pact to coordinate state re-openings based on scientific evidence.

21-Apr

GOP politician Freed files suit against Inslee to end restrictions on religious gatherings.

23-Apr

Ramadan begins (Muslim).

1-May

GOP politicians Didier and Eyman file suit against Inslee on stay-at-home directive.

7-May

Trump calls a national day of prayer, referencing COVID-19.

20-May

192 pastors sign “We Stand with Ahmaud Arbery and All People of Color” statement, published in Seattle Times and Seattle Medium newspapers.

23-May

Eid-al-Fitr (Muslim)

25-May

Death of George Floyd in Minnesota by police.

26-May

George Floyd protests begin in Minneapolis, MN; later called Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.

27-May

Inslee says religion is constitutionally protected in news conference, so “it deserves an extra degree of acuity in figuring out what is in the realm of the possible.”

29-May

Inslee announces “Safe Start” to replace “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” effective June 1; phases of reopening by county, larger gathering sizes allowed for religious groups; George Floyd protests begin in Seattle.

31-May

Racially related protests and looting in Bellevue.

1-Jun

BLM protesters dispersed for Trump photo op holding Bible in front of St. John’s Church, DC without church’s permission.

3-Jun

WA judge decides not to move against WA stay-at-home orders; Pope issues statement on racism and George Floyd protests in US.

4-Jun

Bethany Community church hosts Service of Lament concerning racism/killings.

8-Jun

Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), later Capitol Hill Organized/Occupied Protest (CHOP) established in Seattle; Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Valley and Mountain United Methodist, and Kadima Reconstructionsit Community organize interfaith clergy table at CHAZ/CHOP.

10-Jun

March on Seattle City Hall; Trump demands Inslee and Durkan re-take CHAZ, offering national guard; Inslee and Durkan refuse Trump’s demand/offer of national troops.

17-Jun

Interfaith coalition hosts virtual gathering, “A Moral Response to the Pandemic, Poverty & Police Violence” (Muslim Association of Puget Sound, Bethany United Church of Christ, Kadima Jewish Reconstructionist, WA Poor People’s Campaign, New Hope Missionary Baptist, Islamic Center of Bothell, Plymouth United Church of Christ, Faith Action Network).

18-Jun

King and Pierce counties declare racism a public health crisis.

19-Jun

Evangelical Covenant Churches lead “March to Surrender” against racism in Renton.

23-Jun

Inslee announces statewide mask mandate, effective June 26.

28-Jun

Kalos and Common Good churches host #JusticeForBlackLives prayer rally in Bellevue.

30-Jun

Durkan issues executive order to clear CHOP.

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Adorno, T., & Horkheimer, M. (1972). Dialectic of enlightenment: Philosophical fragments. Herder and Herder. (Original work published 1947) Agarwal, A., Xie, B., Vovsha, I., Rambow, O., & Passonneau, R. J. (2011). Sentiment analysis of Twitter data. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Language in Social Media (LSM 2011) (pp. 30-38). Academic Press. Agoratus, L. (2020). Extended school year and compensatory services: Special education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Exceptional Parent, 50(6), 22–24. Ahmed, W., Bath, P. A., Sbaffi, L., & Demartini, G. (2020). Zika outbreak of 2016: Insights from Twitter. In Social Computing and Social Media. Participation, User Experience, Consumer Experience, and Applications of Social Computing (pp. 447-458). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49576-3_32

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Aragno, A. (2008). The language of empathy: An analysis of its constitution, development, and role in psychoanalytic listening. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 56(3), 713–740. doi:10.1177/0003065108322097 PMID:18802125 Archambault, I., Janosz, M., & Chouinard, R. (2012). Teacher beliefs as predictors of adolescents’ cognitive engagement and achievement in mathematics. The Journal of Educational Research, 105(5), 319–328. doi:10.1080/0022067 1.2011.629694 Arkorful, V., & Abaidoo, N. (2014). The role of e-learning, the advantages and disadvantages of its adoption in Higher Education. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(12), 397–410. Arup. [@Arup64094929]. (2020, April 26). Great news sir. It appears that immunity of people in the region is comparatively better. Nevertheless, the effort put in by you and the entire Health Department is commendable. Jai Hind [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/Arup64094929/status/1254364488381464576

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About the Contributors

Eda Başak Hancı-Azizoğlu gained her Ph.D. in English Language from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Composition/Rhetoric and Applied Linguistics/TESOL. Her knowledge and experience lie in the areas of English language, literacy, culture, and writing. She is an expert on global perspectives on language and literacy policies, practices and English language learning and writing programs. She has extensive English Language teaching experience in American public schools and universities. She served as a chair in English Departments, where she developed English language programs depending on her students’ unique and diverse needs. She has given master’s level courses to certified American school teachers to provide them leadership and skills on language teaching methods for multicultural students. Her research interests are artificial linguistic intelligence, linguistic analysis, the poetic and creative function of English as an additional language. Maha Alawdat holds Ph.D in Composition and TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Master degree in foreign English Literature from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Currently, she teaches at Kaye College of Education and Ort Abu Rabe’a Multidisciplinary school. Previously, she taught at Indiana University of PA and the Language Center in the United States. During her career, she got a number of awards like Teaching Excellence Award from IUP, Graduate Women’s Leadership, Fulbright Scholarship from the American Embassy, and Award for Dissertation Completion, and Exceptional English Teacher Award from the Israeli Ministry of Education. She has also a number of publications including articles, poems, and a book.

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*** Nancy Al-Doghmi is an Assistant Professor of English Literature and Criticism at Yarmouk University-Jordan. She received her Ph.D. in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. in English Literature and Criticism from Yarmouk University in Jordan. Her Research interests include postcolonial literature and studies, critical theory and literary criticism, Arab-American women’s literature, transnational feminism, multiculturalism, cultural nationalism, and colonialism. Her recent research work examines the fictional and autobiographical voices of Arab American and Chinese American female writers, the subterranean world of an Arab diaspora in the U.S, and the various feminist agendas in the cultural-nationalist discourses.

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



About the Contributors

Ahmad A. Alharthi is a Ph.D. candidate in English language and rhetoric at the University of Washington. He teaches both mainstream and multilingual sections of first-year composition courses, and his research interests include critical applied linguistics, second language writing, and English as a lingua franca. Arisha Andha is an undergraduate student at New Jersey City University, graduating in Spring 2021. She is pursuing a degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice with a background in research and Mock Trial. She is interested in research relating to the psychology behind crimes and studying the school to prison pipeline. Arisha is an aspiring attorney, hoping to begin law school after earning her undergraduate degree. Leonora Anyango-Kivuva is a language, culture, and education expert of international repute. She is an applied linguist, specializing in language teaching and learning, multilingual writing, and translation. She invests in working with diverse groups of students to use language as a tool to advance their scholarship. Dr. Anyango-Kivuva has a vast knowledge and understanding of multiple languages including Kiswahili and Japanese. Recently, her research has concentrated on non-Western Rhetoric, especially African Rhetoric. She also writes on the benefit of using narrative pedagogy in the multilingual writing classroom and draws on her own knowledge of story-telling and writing to instruct students on writing their own stories. Dr. Anyango-Kivuva is also an avid writer of creative nonfiction and has published in this area. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Assay: Journal of Non-Fiction Studies, among others. She is currently working on completing her memoir, Inspirations from Mama’s Two Wisdoms.

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Dipima Buragohain is motivated to explore new domains of academics including language studies, education and technology-driven learning techniques, she is committed to imparting knowledge on linguistics and language studies as well as mentoring and supervising learners in research areas related to Linguistics and English language teaching and learning. Obindra B. Chand is health and social sciences researcher currently works at HERD International, a research and development institute based in Kathmandu; Nepal. Obindra has an MA in Anthropology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has authored and co-authored several publications such ‘Pain and Plight of People with Disabilities during COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections from Nepal [2020]’, ‘Missing Category: Mental Health in School Level Education [co-authored 2018]’, ‘New Forms of Development: Branding Innovative Ideas and Bidding for Foreign Aid in the Maternal and Child Health Service in Nepal [co-authored 2018]’, ‘Disability Studies in Nepal: A Bibliography [2017]’, ‘Spirit Possession in the wake of the Nepalese Civil War: An Exploratory Study of Stress and Coping Among Conflict-Affected Tamang Villagers in Kavre District [co-authored 2014]’, ‘Medical Anthropological/ Sociological Studies in Nepal: A Bibliography [co-authored 2013]’ and ‘Doctor-Patient Relationship: A Preliminary Discussion Based on the Case Study of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center [2012]’. Sarah E. DeCapua is Assistant Professor in Residence in the First-Year Writing Program at the University of Connecticut (Storrs), where she teaches primarily in the Second Language Writing Program. She received her PhD in Composition and TESOL in 2016 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where her dissertation research explored student response to written teacher feedback in First-Year Composi-

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About the Contributors

tion. Her research interests include Second Language Writing, student response to instructor feedback, rhetoric, and writing program administration. Robert Andrew Dunn is an associate professor and incoming Chair of the Department of Media and Communication at East Tennessee State University. He is also the head of the journalism program. He teaches both journalism and media courses. Academically, Dunn holds a PhD in mass communication from the University of Alabama, a master’s degree in mass communication from Florida State University, and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Auburn University Montgomery. Professionally, Dunn worked in newspapers for nearly a decade. He served primarily as an education reporter and occasional legislative reporter for both the Tallahassee Democrat in Tallahassee, Florida, and The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida. He has also served as an instructor for Florida Southern College and the University of Alabama. Dunn’s research focuses on avatars, virtual identity, mediated identity, media psychology, media effects, fandom, and communication technology. He also has a strong interest in journalism and media convergence. He is the editor and creator for the book, Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Media Fandom. Jawad Golzar is a professor of English at Herat University, Afghanistan. He holds an MA in TESOL, and he has obtained it through Fulbright Scholarship from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests include educational technology, teacher identity, and second language writing. His ORCID is 0000-0003-0268-391X. Erin Guydish Buchholz is currently an American Literature Instructor at The Grier School. She earned her BA at Wilkes University, and her MA as well as her PhD at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania where her dissertation centered on examining alternative versions of the American Dream. She has written chapter contributions focusing on her interests in American literature as well as articles invested in her pedagogical goals. She hopes to continue exploring ways to empower students as well as encourage better comprehension of today’s world through literary, sociological, and historical analyses.

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Lauren Hahn is a Rowan University graduate with a BA in sociology. She is currently enrolled in New Jersey City University’s dual master’s program in educational and school psychology. Her research on childhood trauma has informed her approach when working with special education students, and she aims to provide research-driven, trauma-informed care to those affected by the numerous obstacles of the 21st Century. Zhenzhen He-Weatherford works as an Assistant Professor at the English Department of Bellevue College and teaches first-year composition (FYC), research writing, and technical writing. She received her Ph.D. in Language and Rhetoric from University of Washington, with a focus on FYC teacher training, antiracist writing pedagogies, and translingualism. Rebecca Hodges is an anthropologist (PhD Washington University in St. Louis, 2015) and Upper School teacher at Lausanne Collegiate School. She specializes in comparative education in the Middle East. She received an M.A. in Islamic and Near Eastern Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2009 and a B.A. in International Relations from Samford University in 2004. Her research fellowships include Arabic language and dialect with the Critical Language Scholarship program in Alexandria,

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About the Contributors

Egypt (2009); politics, pluralism, and religion with EHESS-CNRS at the Sorbonne in Paris, France (2010); Islamic rationalism in the post-classical age (1200-1800CE) with the Mellon Sawyer Foundation (2011-2012); and teacher agency in education reform for a knowledge economy with the Fulbright program in Amman, Jordan (2012-2013). She has been involved in international education in twenty countries since 2001, and became an iEARN teacher and teacher trainer in 2005. Her research focuses on teacher training, quality assurance, and 21st century education reforms for the knowledge economy. She presented at educational conferences in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Oman. Amir Kalan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE) at McGill University. His research interests include critical literacy, multiliteracies, second language writing, intercultural rhetoric, multilingual text generation, and multimodal and digital writing. In his research, he mobilizes mainstream qualitative research and alternative qualitative methods such as narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and visual ethnography to study sociocultural, discursive, political, and power relational contexts of literacy engagement. He is particularly interested in learning about the experiences of minoritized and racialized students in multicultural and multilingual contexts and non-Western forms of language and literacy education. Lisa Li Xi Lau was born and raised in New York City. She grew up in Manhattan’s Chinatown in the Lower East Side, and later moved to the burgeoning Chinese community in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She has worked more than a decade in the international development field, where she has maintained a passion in empowering youth through education and digital learning opportunities. She is currently the Executive Director of EDUCOA, an education non-profit she founded in Ghana, and is a consultant at the World Bank. Ms. Lau holds a Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and attained her BA in Anthropology and International Relations from Brown University. She speaks Cantonese-Chinese, Mandarin-Chinese, and Spanish. Patrick Ryan Lee is a brand strategist and writer living in Knoxville, Tenn.

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Eva Márquez holds a degree in English Studies and a master’s degree in English Language Teaching. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate for the Autonomous University of Madrid and member of the UAM-TeLL research group.Her research focuses on critical thinking development in Secondary and High School students framed into the 21st-century sociocultural learning. She worked as an editor for 20 years publishing books devoted to historical and socioeconomical changes in the 20th century due to world and civil wars and their social and economic consequences. Mir Abdullah Miri is a faculty member at English Language Department, Herat University, Afghanistan. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in TEFL at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. He holds a master’s degree in TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests include language identity, second language writing, language pedagogy, and topics related to access and equity. His ORCID is 0000-0001-7392-3277. Shane Peterson is a Ph.D. candidate in language and rhetoric at the University of Washington. He received his BA in English Literature with minors in editing and writing & rhetoric at Brigham Young

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About the Contributors

University. His research interests include rhetorics of crisis, religious studies, and apocalypticism. He is writing his dissertation about environmental rhetorics in the American Southwest. Maria Dolores Ramírez-Verdugo is an Associate Professor (Tenure Position) at the Department of Modern Languages and Methodology, Area of English Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain). Her research involves two main areas of interests. The first one deals with technology-enhanced language learning in bilingual education and multilingual settings; second and foreign language acquisition, teaching and learning from cognitive and psycholinguistics perspectives; and CLIL as an action research approach to current national and international bilingual programs across Europe and USA. Her second field of research includes English and Spanish prosody, phonetics and phonology within systemicfunctional linguistics (SFL) and auto-segmental metrical phonology (AM); spoken discourse analysis and pragmatics; cross-linguistic learner vs. native language corpora and corpus linguistics. One of the research outcome derived from this field of knowledge was precisely her PhD dissertation on Spanish vs English prosodic patterns and their pragmatic effects at a communicative level based on cross-linguistic corpora. This study was awarded with the first national prize in educational research (2003). Melanie B. Richards joined East Tennessee State University in Fall 2016 as an Assistant Professor of Media & Communication, teaching Media Strategy, Audience Insights, and Brand Insight & Analytics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, in addition to other communication and media focused courses. Prior to joining ETSU, she worked extensively in the market research, analytics, and planning functions of Fortune 100 for-profit organizations, major advertising agencies, and some of the largest US-based NGOs. She continues to consult in this space today through her LLC, Thought Catalyst.

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Reema Salah is co-founder of Research Corner at Al alBayt University-Jordan. She received her Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics from Western Sydney University in Australia in 2016 and her M.A. in English Linguistics from Yarmouk University in Jordan. She is currently an academic faculty member at the Department of English Language and Literature, Al alBayt University-Jordan. Her research interests include codemixing, codeswitching, language contact, gender, Arabic dialects and language planning. Reema has taught a number of courses offered by AABU in Jordan and WSU in Australia including Introduction to Sociolinguistics, Research Methodology, Phonetics, Phonology, History of English language, Morphology, and Pragmatics. Carmela B. Scala received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York. Her main field of research is Baroque literature, fairytales, folklore and dialect literature. She is also interested in contemporary literature, and has published a book on contemporary cinema, “New Trends in Italian Cinema: “New” Neorealism”. She has also written and published articles on more contemporary Italian authors. She recently published a book on Basile’s Lo cunto de li cunti titled “Fairytales- A world between the Imaginary. Metaphors at Play in Lo cunto de li cunti by Giambattista Basile” and an Italian reader “Un viaggio fantastico nella lingua e nella cultura italiana!” Her last article “Matteo Garrone’s The Tale of Tales-Visual Metaphors and Transmedial Storytelling” will be published in the book entitled “The Body of Naples: Corporality and Performativity in Baroque Naples” (Lexington Books) . She is currently the Director of the Italian Language Program at Rutgers University and the Director of the Study Abroad program. She is also the founder and chief editor of the Language Teaching and Technology (LTT). She has won an entrepreneurial grant to develop a Professional Development work-

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About the Contributors

shop completely online for Italian Teachers as well as many other small grants to develop innovative online language courses. She is the recipient of the Rutgers prestigious Ernest E. McMahon Class of 1930 Award for the academic year 2019-2020. Holly Shelton is a Ph.D. candidate in language and rhetoric at the University of Washington. She teaches interdisciplinary science writing, and her research interests include literacy sponsorship. She is a former Kuyper Fellow with Graduate Christian Fellowship, and she currently attends Bellevue Presbyterian Church. Haydee Soriano is a goal-driven and public service enthusiast majoring in Political Science and Psychology at New Jersey City University. With a background in competitions, internships, and research, Haydee intends to branch out into the field of law to provide services to the vulnerable populations that do not have the resources for legal services. She obtains her Bachelor’s Degree in January 2021 and hopes to begin her legal studies in Fall 2021.

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Sudeep Uprety is Nepal based researcher specializing in media studies and development communications research and teaching. Sudeep has a Masters in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and has carried out several studies related to media research on health, gender and adolescence, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response, among others. He is also Contributing Author for Research to Action and London School of Economics South Asia blog. He has also taught Development Communications at National College, affiliated with Kathmandu University. Sudeep has also published other two IGI book chapters on media influences on security and mental health discourses in Nepal titled, ‘Media, Social Media, and the Securitization of Mental Health Problems in Nepal: Yama Buddha’s Case Study’ and ‘Print Media’s Role in Securitization: National Security and Diplomacy Discourses in Nepal’. Sharon M. Virgil received her BA (1995) and MA (1996) in English from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. She has spent all of her teaching career at Bermuda College, a Community College on the island of Bermuda. In 2011, she took a year-long sabbatical from Bermuda College, to pursue her PhD at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, in the Composition and TESOL program. Under the tutelage of renowned IUP Composition professor, Claude Hurlbert, she completed a narrative dissertation, which focused on teaching Freshman Composition using a student-centered-book-writing pedagogy. She completed her PhD degree in 2015. Using her student-centered-book-writing pedagogy, she encourages her Composition students to find and use their voice. She currently serves as Chair of the English Department at Bermuda College, teaches Freshman Composition and literature courses, serves as an Academic Advisor, is a member of the Academic Council, and is the Faculty Advisor for the Bermuda College Literary Society. Parisa Yeganehpour is an Assistant Professor of English, and she teaches critical methodology courses including discourse analysis, linguistics, and language skills in the Foreign Language Department of a public university in Turkey. Dr. Yeganehpour is an expert of international repute, and she develops a variety of research studies depending on her students’ academic priorities and diverse needs. She taught in a variety of higher-level public institutions, where she had the opportunity to share her unique knowl-

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About the Contributors

edge and expertise on languages. Her main research interests are developing effective language teaching methods, technology integration in language learning, psycholinguistics, and educational research.

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Peri Yuksel earned her Ph.D. in Human Development from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2015 and joined the Department of Psychology at NJCU in 2016. Her research focuses on bilingual language development in various contexts (endangered, immigrant), pedagogy, and internationalizing the curriculum. She engages her students in hands-on research and encourages them to investigate societal issues in creative ways.

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Index

A abortion 277-284, 287, 289-294 adaptive assignments 116, 125 Adaptive Teaching 20, 129 Africa 53, 114, 171-172, 174, 187, 189-191, 193-194, 234, 321 Anansi 191, 194, 230 authentic assignments 116, 125 authoritarian orientation 256-257, 260, 262-263, 266, 270-272, 276 auto-ethnography 56-60, 63-66, 68, 71-72, 74-78

B baboons 100-102, 107-108, 111, 113-114 baizuo 256, 264-265, 269, 276 Bakisiimba 189, 194 Bermuda 25, 152, 155, 157-159, 163-164, 166, 168 Bermuda College 152, 155, 157, 168 Bermuda Regiment 168 Black Lives Matter 7, 17, 38, 118, 152, 155-159, 165166, 168, 171, 225, 342-343, 352 Book-Writing 152, 168 Book-Writing Pedagogy 168

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C chronic trauma 1-2 Collaborative Learning 21, 40, 230 community 1, 5, 10, 12-13, 15, 17-19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36-37, 39, 43, 49, 83, 85, 87, 90, 101, 106-109, 118, 143-145, 152, 155, 157, 164-166, 168, 171, 193, 195, 198, 206, 209, 221, 231-232, 250, 256260, 269-271, 283-287, 289, 307, 327, 329, 331332, 335, 339, 343-344, 349-353, 357-361, 363 competence 11, 79-86, 92-93, 98, 122, 126-128, 130 confict 65, 94, 103-104, 108, 205, 218, 270, 295-296, 299, 304, 311, 313-314, 319

coping 1-2, 20, 23, 25-26, 30, 33-34, 38, 40, 147 Coping Mechanisms 23, 30, 38, 40 Coping with Stress 1 COVID-19 1-5, 7-27, 31-34, 37, 41, 51-57, 59, 61, 64, 68, 72, 74-75, 77-78, 100, 104-105, 110-114, 132, 138, 140, 142, 152, 155, 158-166, 171, 192, 195, 199, 201, 207-208, 211, 215, 235-240, 242-246, 252-255, 268, 278, 285, 293, 320-333, 335-336, 338-344, 348-350, 352, 358 crisis period 41-42, 44, 55, 215, 348, 356 critical consciousness 81, 93, 98 Critical Discourse Analysis 23, 26, 39-40 critical thinking 11, 20-23, 25-26, 62, 79-98, 154, 250 cultural heritage 116, 123 culturally responsive teaching 116-118, 126, 128129, 167 culture 21, 24, 57-61, 63, 65, 68, 72, 74, 78, 87, 103104, 108-109, 117-126, 129, 136, 144, 147, 156, 174, 193, 197, 225-226, 229, 231, 233, 240, 251, 256-257, 259, 261-262, 265-268, 270, 272, 274276, 287-288, 290, 299, 361 curriculum 25, 29-30, 37, 48-51, 81-85, 95, 97, 116, 118, 122, 133, 144, 207, 209

D Democrat 314, 319 Desecuritization 294 Digital Fiction 234 digital media 56-61, 63, 65, 68, 72, 74-75, 78, 132 Digital Pedagogy 56, 74-75, 78 digital writing 214, 231 discourse 23, 26, 30, 38-40, 54, 58, 132, 196-197, 199, 207, 211-212, 236-237, 241-242, 253-260, 262-263, 269-276, 282-284, 286, 290, 294, 347, 357, 360-361 discourse analysis 23, 26, 38-40, 54, 236-237, 242, 253-255, 272-274, 276 Djembe 189, 194

 

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index

Dodo 190, 194 Donald Trump 225, 268, 273, 275, 277-278, 280, 282, 290, 292, 296-297, 309, 311-313

E e-learning 41-42, 44-47, 49-51, 53, 55, 97, 130, 208 emotional intelligence 100-115, 340 emotionality 131, 134-136, 138-139, 143-145, 148 emotions 13, 32-33, 63, 67, 74, 88, 101-102, 104-106, 110, 113-114, 131-133, 136-145, 148, 161, 172174, 192, 235-236, 244-245, 252, 322-324, 326, 328, 331, 343, 356 Empathic Education 100, 114 empathic linguistic power 100-101, 109, 115 empathy 9, 11, 29, 32, 39, 100-115, 118, 125 Episodic Framing 319 equality 36, 116-119, 122, 125-126, 245, 319, 347 equity 29, 53, 79, 117, 124-125, 129, 294, 311 Erving Gofman 297, 342 ethic of care 195, 200-201, 203-207, 209, 213 expressive writing 131-132, 134-135, 143-145, 147148, 171, 173, 249

F Family Dynamics 1, 20 far-right 257, 260, 263-265, 269, 276 female subjectivity 235, 251 First-Generation Chinese Americans (First-Generation) 276 First-Year Writing (FYW) 198, 213 frame 198, 216, 238, 297, 299-302, 304-306, 308312, 314, 316-317, 319, 342-343, 346-347, 349, 352-357, 360-363 frame alignment 342-343, 346-347, 354-355, 360, 362-363 framing 68, 85, 280, 291, 295, 297-299, 303, 313-319, 342-343, 345-347, 351, 360, 362 Freshman Composition 152-155

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G Gangan 190, 194 gendered writing 241, 255 generative dialogue 342, 359-360, 362-363 genre 57, 59, 132, 134, 141, 145, 148, 198, 214-216, 219, 222-223, 227-228, 234, 241, 254, 342-343, 346, 360-363 George Floyd 7, 16, 129, 156, 159, 162, 168, 171, 175, 178-180, 183, 192, 344, 352-353, 355, 358-359

global citizenship 21-27, 29, 40 global crises 1, 81, 83, 94, 104, 153 Global Gag Rule 277-278, 280, 282-283, 285, 292-294 guanxi 256, 267-269, 273, 275-276

H health aid 277, 286 heterogeneous 84, 236, 241-243, 252, 255 hope 13, 17, 49, 121, 123, 129, 137, 139-140, 150, 156-157, 164-165, 167, 171-176, 178, 180, 183, 185, 192, 204, 215, 218, 247, 250, 254, 302-303, 327, 338, 356, 358-359

I identity 21-25, 27-31, 33-34, 36-37, 40, 65-67, 74, 77, 79, 84, 94, 96, 117, 124, 126-127, 133-137, 139, 141, 148, 174, 177, 224-225, 227, 230, 232-233, 236, 238, 241, 243, 245-247, 249, 255, 263-265, 333, 337, 356-358, 361 inference 79, 83, 86-90, 93, 98 inquisitiveness 80, 88-89, 98 Interculturality 123, 126, 129 isicathulo 190-191, 194

J judgment 58, 79, 83, 89-91, 93, 98, 220, 225-226, 232-233

K Kairos 342, 344, 359, 363 Kalandula 191, 194 Kamala Harris 171, 174, 185, 189, 192

L L2 learning 79, 81, 84, 86, 92-93, 134, 136-137, 144 language education 94, 127-128, 133 language use 21, 26-27, 31, 54, 65, 134, 144, 236-237, 255, 320, 342, 347 Learning Management System (LMS) 195, 213 Lipala 190, 194 literacy practices 132, 235, 238-241, 247, 251, 253 literature 22-23, 25-26, 29-31, 34-35, 39, 57, 62, 79-81, 84-85, 88, 93-95, 98, 128, 132-133, 145-147, 171, 195-196, 214-215, 221, 231, 233-234, 255-256, 264, 282, 322, 345, 360 Lunna 190, 194

Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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Index

M mask 171, 176-178, 193 Mbira 189, 194 meaningful literacy 131-134, 136-137, 144-146, 148 media 2-7, 9, 12, 15-17, 25-26, 29-30, 32, 34, 39, 48, 54-61, 63-65, 68, 72, 74-78, 80, 96, 102, 109, 124-125, 132, 157-159, 161, 164, 196, 205, 218, 220-221, 223, 226, 230, 264, 266, 268-269, 277284, 286-292, 294, 296, 299, 317-318, 320-326, 330-331, 333-340, 343, 346, 348, 363 mental health 1, 4-6, 9, 11, 13, 15-17, 20, 32, 34, 161, 207, 211, 294, 361 Metadiscourse 256 motivation 4, 11, 32, 36, 46, 48, 80-81, 84, 88, 91, 96, 98, 126, 128, 135, 200, 204, 207, 212, 284, 286 Mukama 190, 194 multiculturalism 18, 27, 127-129, 193

N narrative 6, 29, 56-60, 63-65, 67-68, 75, 81, 120, 142, 145, 152, 167, 217, 219, 230, 235-237, 240-251, 253-255, 258, 277-278, 283-284, 288, 290, 347348, 362 narrative writing 58, 75, 152 national origin orientation 256-258, 265-270, 276 Nepal 277-279, 282-286, 288-294, 325 Nyakalaga 190, 194

O Online Environment 37, 40 online learning 4, 7-8, 13, 18, 22-25, 32, 36-37, 53, 130, 160-162, 208, 211, 213 online pedagogy 21, 38-40, 196, 204

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P pandemic 1-7, 9-15, 17-20, 24, 31, 33-34, 41-42, 51-53, 55-57, 60-61, 63, 65, 68, 72, 75-78, 104, 111-114, 132-133, 137-142, 146, 152, 154-155, 159, 161, 163-165, 171-172, 175-176, 178, 185-186, 189, 192-193, 195, 199, 201, 205, 207-208, 211, 215, 235-239, 241-255, 278, 293, 320-337, 340-345, 348-351, 354-355, 357-361, 363 Pandemic Period 41, 55 phenomenology 213-214, 216, 221, 228, 230-234, 241, 256, 258, 271, 273 poetic features 131, 134-136, 138, 140, 143-144, 148 poetic realism 214, 216, 228-229, 234

poetry 34, 58, 63, 81, 131-138, 141-148, 171-175, 192-193, 217, 219, 223, 245, 255 Political Communication 295, 297, 314, 317-318 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 20 presidential rhetoric 295, 299, 315

Q Quaran-Teens 56-57, 60-61, 63, 71-72, 74, 76-78

R racism 7, 29, 112, 116, 118-119, 121-122, 124-126, 152-153, 157-159, 165-166, 171, 178, 183, 192, 197, 251, 342, 344, 349, 352, 355-357, 359 Redesigning a Society Through Empathy 115 refective competence 79, 92 refugee literature 214-215, 231, 233-234 remote learning 2, 8-9, 14, 19, 51, 195-196, 199-207, 210, 213 reproductive health 277-280, 282-285, 287-291, 293-294 Republican 264, 273, 295-297, 299, 307, 310-314, 319 resilience 1, 4, 9-11, 13-17, 19-20, 142-143, 180, 182, 198, 209, 350, 363 rhetoric 21-23, 25-27, 29-32, 37-39, 56, 58-59, 64, 74, 76, 78-79, 92, 110-111, 116-117, 119, 125, 133, 195-199, 201-205, 207-208, 210-217, 220, 222-224, 228, 230-231, 233-234, 245, 256-257, 260, 263-266, 269-271, 295-296, 298-299, 306, 313-319, 344, 347, 361-363 rhetorical situation 197, 200, 205, 208, 213, 318 Rubanga 190, 194

S Second Language Writing 77, 146-147, 196, 198-201, 205, 212-213, 233 Second-Generation Chinese Americans (SecondGeneration) 276 securitization 277-282, 290-294 sentiment analysis 320, 323-324, 326, 335-337, 339341 sexual and reproductive health 278, 282-283, 287, 289, 293-294 skepticism 82, 87, 93, 98 Smartphone Filmmaking 214, 234 social distancing 2, 8, 16, 22, 64-65, 68, 78, 161, 171, 175-176, 186, 192, 195, 244, 321, 325, 327-331, 363 Social Learning 41, 54

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Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics in Times of Global Crisis, edited by Eda Baak Hanc-Azizoglu, and Maha Alawdat, IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index

social media 2, 7, 16-17, 54, 59, 61, 63-65, 68, 72, 74, 96, 102, 125, 157-159, 161, 164, 196, 205, 291, 294, 320-326, 330-331, 333-340, 343, 346, 348 social media platforms 7, 320-326, 330, 334-336 Social-Scientifc 56 Sociocultural Pedagogical Model 79 sociolinguistics 21-23, 25-27, 30-31, 37-38, 56-57, 66, 83, 115, 128, 167, 255-257 speech act 280, 294 speech analysis 295 spirituality and religion 345, 361, 363 State of the Union Address 302-303, 306, 309, 312, 315, 317-319 storytelling 56-58, 63-64, 72, 74-75, 96-97, 114, 119120, 129, 153, 191, 290 strategic contemplation 198, 201, 203-205, 207, 213 Stress Response System 20 student agency 21-26, 28-31, 34, 36-38, 40 Student Centered Teaching 152 Student Voice 152 Sungura 191, 194

T

U uptake 342-343, 346-347, 355, 360-363

W war 10, 20, 41, 52, 108, 113, 225, 295-296, 299-302, 304-306, 308-314, 316-319, 344, 349, 361 wellbeing 1, 3, 10, 13, 42, 100-101, 109, 131, 135-136, 142, 144, 148, 349, 354 Writing Tools 168

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Tamma 190, 194 technology 1-2, 8, 12-13, 24, 31, 39, 41-51, 53-55,

57, 59, 61, 63-68, 72, 74, 82, 85, 88, 96-97, 103, 108, 114, 130, 196, 200, 208, 211-212, 215, 218, 220-221, 226, 233, 246, 274, 339, 344 Text Analysis 253, 324, 341 thematic framing 297-298, 314, 316, 319 Transferable Learning 21 Transnational Feminism 235, 239-240, 255 trauma 1-2, 4, 10-18, 20, 105, 112, 132, 135, 137, 140, 142, 154, 167, 218, 220-221, 223, 256, 271 trauma-informed pedagogy 4, 13 Trauma-Informed Teaching 20 tweets 320-323, 325-327, 329, 331-336, 338, 340

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